Before She Came
by Nature9000
Summary: They were the greatest of friends, but something changed when she arrived. Something tore their world apart, but perhaps even that was before she came. Why couldn't things be the way they were before? Could they ever really be friends again?
1. Friends

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: This story mostly takes place before iCarly. As you should be able to tell from the title…I'm confident you will enjoy this! Sharkofthemist helped to come up with the title.

A/N: This story feels good to get back up. I just reread it, and I remember some of the important things. I have enough to continue it. My old readers will remember this, just like DOG DAYS, new readers will probably enjoy this as obviously it's heavily drenched in Seddie. Older readers will often remember one of the things that was the tragic, traumatic part triggering a bit of the change in everyone...Well everything in my story remains the same. So of course in here, the parents have the old names I've always kept them with, so don't start complaining about the fact that Mrs. Benson isn't named Marissa and that Sam's mother isn't named Pam. Rather, Emily and Sarah. Enjoy, BEFORE SHE CAME has been revived!

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Chapter 1 (Friends)

Five year old Freddie Benson walked with his Mom and Dad through the streets of Seattle, they were heading for the place he was to start going to school at. He was excited because he couldn't wait to see what kindergarten was like. Marissa and John Benson looked at him with soft smiles, he was very energetic.

They entered the school building and walked into the office, they instructed Freddie to sit down in the chair while they spoke with the lady at the front desk. Freddie sat in the chair of the office and waited while his parents spoke to the secretary, her name was Mrs. Bufe. Freddie kicked his feet in the air and quickly became sidetracked. He didn't see another family walk in with a little girl around his age. The man kissed his wife gently and as they waited behind John and Marissa, the woman smiled and issued the girl to sit down next to Freddie.

The girl smiled and walked over to where Freddie was sitting, she watched him as he watched his shoelaces fly through the air as he kicked his feet. She smiled and reached in to grab the foot, but when she did, he accidently hit her in the arm and knocked her to the ground. He gasped and stood up as the parents all looked over. The girl's mom rushed over and knelt beside her, making sure her child was okay and not injured. The girl sniffed and Freddie looked down with a guilty face.

"Is she okay?" Marissa asked as she walked over to the group. The woman smiled as she hugged the young girl, her daughter would be just fine. Freddie walked over to the girl and looked at her, trying to see if she was really okay and didn't have any major injuries, he didn't want to be at fault for hitting a girl. His dad always told him that it was wrong to hit a girl and that he should never do such a thing, therefore, he wanted to apologize as much as he could if he could.

"I didn't mean to kick her!" Freddie said in a quick and apologetic voice. The girl shrugged and Marissa merely rubbed his head.

"I know you didn't mean to, it was an accident." Marissa looked over at the woman and smiled. "I'm Marissa Benson by the way, this is my son Freddie." The woman stood up and smiled at her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm Sarah Puckett, and this is my beautiful daughter, Sam." Sam looked up and grinned as Freddie tapped her shoulder. She looked over and blinked.

"What?" Sam asked while raising her eyebrow. Freddie still seemed to be sad for hitting her. "I'm not hurt, I'm fine!"

"Are you _sure_?" Freddie asked while rubbing his foot across the carpet. "Daddy always says not to hit another girl." John looked over and chuckled as he leaned against the desk, he and Mr. Puckett had been conversing while their wives were with the kids.

"Son, that's _intentionally,_" John said as he held a finger in the air. "Intentionally means to do something on purpose, knowing full well what you are doing. You didn't mean to kick Sam and she's fine, so don't worry about it." Freddie smiled as the two fathers walked over. "Now, you have class with Mrs. Eberly. She's a nice teacher and I hope you will have fun in her class."

"Sam, you have the same class," Mr. Puckett said while reading off the paper the secretary had given him. Sam and Freddie blinked and looked at each other with raised eyebrows, they were going to be in the same class, it was a surprise. "I hope you have fun in it, let's walk to the classroom now, shall we?" The two kids nodded and exited the office, the parents remained close behind. They walked down the right hallway and found the kindergarten rooms on the left.

"Is this where they are, Dave?" Sarah asked. Dave nodded and the group entered a door that was on the far end of the kindergarten hall. They entered and found Mrs. Eberly sitting at a desk, she looked over and smiled while walking over to them. "Hello, I'm Sarah Puckett, this is my wonderful husband, Dave." Dave smiled and wrapped his arm around Sarah's waist, he gently kissed her and Sam cringed with disgust. Sarah giggled and looked toward Sam. "This is my wonderful daughter, Sam."

"I'm John Benson," John said as he shook Mrs. Eberly's hand. "This beautiful woman to my left is my wife, Marissa. Here for his first day of school is our son, Freddie." Freddie smiled and Mrs. Eberly knelt down, smiling at the two children.

"Well, welcome to your first day of kindergarten," Mrs. Eberly said in a sweet voice. "I'm glad to have you two in my class!" She stood up and looked to the parents. "You know, what I usually do on the first day of class is let the children and their parents introduce themselves. If you want, you may stay here and introduce yourself with the children."

"That sounds great," Marissa said with a careful nod. Sarah nodded in agreement and Mrs. Eberly led them to a few desks. Sam and Freddie sat in the desks next to each other as the parents walked toward Mrs. Eberly's desk and talked with her. Freddie looked at Sam and then back to his desk. He wasn't sure what to think of her other than his initial thinking, girls were scary and contained cooties. Sam tapped her desk and looked around the room with boredom, she was normally an energetic girl, she didn't like getting bored. She looked over at Freddie and tilted her head.

"Hey, you're not still upset over kicking me, are you?" Sam asked in a quiet voice. Freddie shifted his eyes over and saw her looking at him, he yelped and looked away. Sam narrowed her eyes and slowly lifted her foot, she pushed it forward and barely tapped Freddie in the side, causing him to yelp and jump back slightly. Sam snickered and gave a small smirk. Freddie held his hands up in X form and leaned back slightly, causing Sam to raise her eyebrow. "What's wrong with you?"

"You're a girl!" Sam laughed and leaned forward. Freddie screamed out as she leaned close to his face. "Don't breathe on me!"

"What? You think girl's have cooties or something? Okay!" Sam jumped onto Freddie and pushed him onto the ground, he screamed out as Sam wrapped her arms around him. "Hah! Do you _still_ think I have cooties? You seem alive to me!" Freddie's eyes were closed tightly, he was saying a prayer and hoping not to get infected. "Hello, I think you're still alive!" He opened one eye and stared at Sam. She smirked and he let out a slow sigh, he was indeed still among the realm of the living.

"I'm still alive…and I haven't been turned into a girl!" Sam raised her eyebrow and Freddie rested his head on the ground. "My older brother, Joshua always says girls are full of disgusting disease and if they touch you then you'll turn into one of them." Sam rolled her eyes and smirked at him, she wondered if she could make a joke about the situation, but she chose not to. Instead, she shook her head slightly and let her golden hair fly through the wind. Freddie watched the act and blinked at the hypnotic sight.

"What are you staring at?" Freddie shook his head and saw Sam staring into his eyes. "You know, my sister Ciara always says that boys are fickle minded creatures who have no brain whatsoever. At least that's what she says an idiot means." Sam sat on the floor next to Freddie and crossed her arms. She closed her eyes and straightened her back. "My other older sister, Michelle says that boys are icky and she thinks they will turn us girls into them, so we're even!" Freddie paled and narrowed his eyes, that was more than the one thing he got her on.

"Cheater, you have more than I do!" Sam's eyes widened and Freddie quickly stood up, he felt cheated out of it all. Sam shrugged and gave a slight smirk.

"So what, I have two siblings and you have one, is there a problem?" Sam held out her hand and closed her eyes, Freddie raised his eyebrow and she let out a small sigh. "A guy is supposed to be a gentleman, that's what Ciara says. She says that they're supposed to help you up and do things for you."

"I don't want to!" Sam's mouth fell and she lowered her head, looking toward the ground sadly. Freddie felt a pang hit his chest and watched as Sam pouted her lower lip. He swallowed his boyish pride and held out his hand. "Here!" Sam looked at him and quickly grinned as she placed her hand in his and let him pull her up. "There, are you happy?" Sam nodded and walked over to her desk. "Ugh, now I have to clean my hand!" She rolled her eyes and smiled as Freddie stared at his palm. The parents and Mrs. Eberly had been watching, they laughed lightly at the sight and went back to talking about the kids.

Several more children and parents walked into the room and took their seats. Freddie and Sam looked at the other kids and Sam slumped shyly into her seat. Freddie looked over at her and blinked, he was confused as to why Sam was hiding in her seat. She saw his gaze and glared over at him. "Okay, so I'm shy…so what." His eyes widened in shock and disbelief, she sure didn't act shy. The children started laughing with each other and their parents, causing Sam to sink more into her chair.

Mrs. Eberly smiled and stepped in front of the classroom, she lifted her hands up slightly and called for the attention of the room. "Children, children may I have your attention?" The parents started shushing their kids and the children all looked forward to the teacher. "Before we get started, I would like for you to find one person in the room that you don't know and pair with them, they will be your partners for the year."

"What does that mean?" One kid asked while raising his hand.

"That means that when we start working on projects in class, you will always have them to work with. They will be your school 'buddy' for the year. That means that if you leave the room for anything, your 'buddy' will leave with you so that you don't go anywhere alone. Do you understand?" The child nodded his head and Sam sank deeper into her seat. Sam hoped she wouldn't be seen by anyone. She made a slight whimper sound and closed her eyes. Before any of the children could look around, Freddie reached over. Sam felt someone touch her arm, she opened her eyes and saw Freddie smiling at her.

"I want to be your buddy," he said while letting his smile grow. He knew she hadn't acted shy with him, so he thought that was a good thing. She seemed nice enough as well. Sam smiled and clasped his hand, she didn't mind being buddies with him. Mrs. Eberly instructed everyone to move their desks into two, so Sam and Freddie moved their desks together. "So, you're not mad that I kicked you earlier?" Sam rolled her eyes and gave Freddie a quick hug, causing him to blush. "Why did you do that?"

"Because my sisters say that hugs signify friendship and being happy with people…So, I'm happy with you!"

"Okay…but my mom and dad hug all the time and it looks like they're REALLY happy with each other!"

"I don't know, I think Ciara says there are different levels of hugging."

"Your sister sounds smart, but I be she's not as smart as Joshua!"

"I bet she is!"

"Is not, my brother makes all A's in school!"

"So? Ciara does that too! I keep asking her to give me one of her A's, but she never does. She tells me that they're not something she can give to me right now."

"I got it! Let's let them meet and see who is smarter!"

"Okay, but if Ciara is smarter, then you have to be my friend and play with me!" Freddie's mouth fell and he slowly crossed his arms and chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm going to play with you...I'm just being your buddy in class because I want to!" Sam blinked and frowned as she looked at her desk. Freddie's face softened and he leaned toward her. "Aw, what's wrong?"

"You don't really want to be my friend."

"Yes I do! I wasn't being serious, I really like you. You seem nice!" Sam smiled and looked over at him, she had just been messing with him. "I want to be your buddy! I want to be your friend."

"Fine, we can be friends." Mrs. Eberly started to say something and pick up a notepad, she smiled and the class quieted.

"Okay, I'm going to call each of your names out for the roll. When I do, I want you to stand up for me if you want to and tell us a little about you. If you're too shy to do so, then you don't have to." Sam gulped and her eyes widened considerably as Mrs. Eberly read through the names. "Freddie Benson."

"That's me!" Freddie said as he quickly stood up. He turned toward the class and smiled. "I'm Freddie Benson and I live with my mommy and daddy. I have one older brother, he is sixteen years old! My family owns one dog. My favorite color is black because my brother Joshua says it's the king of colors! If it doesn't like a color, it can color over it and take it over! I like to go to the zoo with my dad when he is off from work. He's a police officer and one day I want to be just like my daddy!"

"That is very good, Freddie!" He smiled and sat down. Sam smiled at him and looked over as Mrs. Eberly ran through the list. Eventually she came to Sam. "Samantha Puckett." Sam slowly stood up and shook. She stood in place and looked down, she didn't like having all those eyes upon her, she hated the feeling of being watched. Freddie smiled and stood up, taking her hand in his.

"Don't be afraid. Hey, I like that name, Samantha…" Sam blinked and looked at him with wide eyes.

"You like it? I don't like it when people call me that…but you can call me that if you want."

"Tell me more about you! You seem cool, I want to know more!" Sam smiled and looked into his eyes.

"Well, if you _must_ know…My name is Sam Puckett and I'm five years old."

"Awesome. My brother says that all the time, he says it means something good." Sam giggled lightly and continued looking into his soft eyes, forgetting the eyes on her.

"I live with my mommy and daddy and have two older sisters. Ciara is sixteen and Michelle is eleven. We have one dog, she's a beagle named Sandy. My favorite color is red because pink reminds me of that icky medicine that I had to take one time and red is pretty! My Mommy is a doctor and my Daddy is a fireman. They are always busy saving lives, so I want to be just like them. Ciara takes care of me most of the time since Mommy and Daddy are at work a lot. I'm also very shy. Ciara says it's not good to be so shy and wants me to get some more friends…but I'm afraid sometimes."

"Why are you so afraid?"

"I think people won't like me…"

"I like you. Like I said, I want to be your friend, so you know I like you." Sam smiled and blinked as she looked to the side. Her eyes widened and she gulped, she had forgotten that everyone was watching her. She was shocked, she hadn't thought she'd ever talk that much in front of a lot of people.

"You made me talk in front of…" She paled slightly and Freddie gave her a soft smile.

"I didn't do anything, you talked on your own."

"You're right, I did!" She gave Freddie a quick hug and sat down. He blushed and took his seat.

"Very good," Mrs. Eberly said as she smiled. "I will give you a prize for being brave." She opened her desk and pulled out a mini candy piece. Sam grinned as she watched the teacher place the candy on the desk.

"Yes! I'm going to tell Ciara about this!" Mrs. Eberly then put a candy piece on Freddie's desk and smiled at him.

"I will give you a reward as well for helping her to introduce herself."

"Thanks," Freddie replied. The teacher moved back to her podium and continued to call out the roll. The entire time, Sam and Freddie were munching on their candy pieces and looking at each other with laughing eyes. They were sure this friendship would go a long way.

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I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter. Mrs. Eberly is the name of one of my kindergarten teachers, haha. I've given so many mentions to people and things in my past XD. Even my lifelong best friend that I've known since kindergarten (Still my close friend even today) makes a cameo one time. Well, enjoy, look forward to the next familiar chapters, then the continuation.


	2. Cafeteria Adventure

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: IMPORTANT-A good thing to keep in mind is this will NOT be like usual past stories. Carly coming _will_ have an effect, but her appearance will NOT be the sole reason for the change in Sam and Freddie!

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Chapter 2 (Cafeteria Adventure)

Sam and Freddie were playing with building blocks in the corner of the classroom, Sam hadn't wanted to be in the center where all of the other kids were because she was too shy to go over there. Freddie didn't mind, he was just happy to be friends with Sam and not enemies because he kicked her.

Freddie set a red block on top of a blue one and Sam set a yellow one on top of his, they were busy building a tower. They were going to try make it as toll as them, or even taller. Currently, the tower was up to their chins and it didn't seem very sturdy. They had to make absolute certain that they were careful enough not to let the tower fall. One false move and it could end up sprawled onto the ground. Freddie stuck his tongue out as he reached for the very top and carefully placed a block onto it.

They were wondering what they were going to do when they finally managed to get the blocks to the top, chances were, they were going to knock the blocks to the ground. Sam placed a block on the top and then Freddie moved one toward the top, after some time of this repeated process, the blocks were already above their heads. Freddie and Sam looked at each other with serious faces and gave a quick nod. They moved their hands out and quickly swiped them through the large tower, sending the blocks crashing to the earth.

"That was fun!" Sam said with a big laugh. Freddie laughed and sat down on the floor. Sam looked around the room and spotted Mrs. Eberly, the teacher was getting up from her desk and walking over to her podium, there was a small bell sitting on it, she rang it whenever it was time to get the children's attention. She tapped the bell and let it ring out, causing all of the other kids to stop what they were doing and look over at her.

"I'm glad you children are having so much fun visiting and getting to know one another," Mrs. Eberly said while smiling softly. The children all moved to their desks and waited to see what she was going to say next. "I want you all to pair up with your buddies, you will be going to the cafeteria to find your lunch." The kindergarten door opened and several sixth graders, including Sam's sister Michelle, entered the room. "These sixth graders will join us to the classroom and be your guides around the cafeteria. Then, they will lead you back to this room where you will eat your lunch. I want each pair to choose a sixth grader, that sixth grader will be your older guide for the remainder of the school year."

"That's Michelle!" Sam said while tugging on Freddie's arm. He smiled and got up with her, she slipped her hand in his and quickly ran over to where Michelle was. Michelle had straight blonde hair that was up in two ponytails, so it wasn't hard to mistake her. She smiled at Sam and quickly hugged her younger sister. "Michelle! Guess what! I made my first friend today!"

"Really, who is it?" Michelle asked while smiling. Sam quickly took Freddie's hand once more and pulled him toward her sister.

"This is Freddie Benson, my new friend. We're kindergarten buddies for the year!"

"Cool, I remember my kindergarten buddy, she and I are still friends as a matter of fact." Sam's eyes beamed with joy at that, she and Freddie both were hoping they could have that chance and still be friends when they were in sixth grade, hopefully it would be their entire lives. "So, you guys are about to venture into the mysterious realm called the cafeteria. Let me tell you, the food there…" Michelle's eyes glazed over and she quickly shook her head. "It is _perfect_!"

"You love food a lot." Michelle grinned and nodded her head. She turned toward the door and waved her hand through the air.

"Come on you guys, it's time for you to get some lunch." Sam and Freddie followed Michelle out the room and down the hall, they looked around as they took in the surroundings and landmarks of the school. This would be good for them, they needed to know their way around the building. "You know, I would recommend that you guys actually explore the school after you're out of class, that way you can know plenty about it."

"Yeah, that does sound like a good idea," Freddie replied while giving a small smile. Michelle stopped and pointed to a door, the kids looked at it and tilted their heads.

"That is the nurse's office, Mrs. Gillard is the nurse. She's very nice. If you get hurt at all you need to see her." The younger kids nodded and continued walking with Michelle, they took a left and entered a large room with tiles. To their left stood a pair of bathroom doors and a hand washing machine in between them. In front of them were doors leading to another area. To the right was the cafeteria. "Okay, the doors in front of us go into the fourth grade classrooms, let's take a right and enter the cafeteria."

"You're very smart, Michelle!" Sam said with a gleeful voice. Michelle chuckled lightly and patted her sister on the back. She wasn't smart, she just knew the place well enough because she was in sixth grade. The group entered the cafeteria and saw rows of rectangular tables, to their right was a stage.

"Do yourself a favor, when on that stage, don't get so close to the edge…I made that mistake once, bad move." She winced at the memory and led the two kids toward the other end of the cafeteria, fortunately there wasn't a long line. "You should come here for breakfast as well." Michelle grabbed three trays and gave two of them to Sam and Freddie, keeping one for herself. She held out her tray as the lunch lady put some peas and carrots on the left side. She watched as Sam and Freddie had the same. Tater tots were placed on the right side of the tray and a small brownie placed in the middle.

"This food looks yummy," Freddie said with a wide grin. Sam nodded as a sandwich was placed onto her tray. Michelle picked up a small square with applesauce in it and placed it on Sam's tray, she did the same for hers and Freddie's. "Thank you Michelle."

"Yeah, thanks sis!" Sam stated. Michelle smiled at the two and they moved out of the line. "So, we're supposed to get back to the classroom?"

"Yes, do you remember the way?" Michelle asked. She put on a fake panicked expression and looked to her sister. "I've forgotten already!" Sam gasped and Freddie's eyes widened.

"You forgot the way back!"

"Yes, I can't remember anything, how do we get back? Oh no, I'm in so much trouble!"

"It's okay, I remember. Also, I promise not to tell anyone that you forgot." Michelle chuckled and stared ahead briefly.

"Yeah, thanks…" Michelle smiled as Sam stepped in front of her, Freddie stepped next to Sam and the trio began walking.

"Okay, it was straight out these doors!" Freddie and Michelle followed Sam out the doors and watched as she looked to her right and left. "The bathroom is in front of me…I think the forth grade halls are to the left."

"No, the forth grade halls are to our right," Freddie said while pointing toward the halls. "I remember because the doors to the forth grade hall were closed!"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Sam looked over and saw the doors shut, she then turned to her left and the trio walked out. Now they came to a hall going straight ahead of them and a hallway to their right. "Um, we took a turn so we need to go right!"

"That's _right_, Sam," Michelle praised while patting her sister on the shoulder and smiling. Sam grinned proudly as the group walked down the hall, she stopped walking and Michelle raised her eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I'm just remembering that Mrs. Gillard's door is right there." Sam pointed to the Nurse's office and grinned. "It's important, right? She's the nurse, so we should remember that!"

"Correct again." Sam giggled and stuck her chest out proudly as she continued walking down the hall. Soon the group made it to the kindergarten rooms, now all they had to do was find Mrs. Eberly's room. "Hmm, which door is Mrs. Eberly's door? Is it that one?" Michelle pointed to a door that was on the far right, it had a purple square on it.

"No!"

"It's not?" Michelle twisted her face in shock, causing Sam and Freddie to laugh.

"I know this one, let me take care of it sis!"

"Oh, okay, you lead us to the right door." Sam gave a determined nod and tapped her chin while looking at the four doors, she hummed and pointed to the door at the far left.

"That's Mrs. Eberly's door!"

"Good job!" Sam grinned as the trio entered Mrs. Eberly's classroom. Michelle followed Sam and Freddie to their seats and looked over as Mrs. Eberly walked toward her.

"Thank you for your time," Mrs. Eberly said while patting Michelle's shoulder.

"Hey, the second I heard my teacher ask for volunteers to help the kindergarteners this year, I just had to step up! I love my little sister to death." She smiled and gave Sam a big hug and rubbed her head. "Hey Sam, I have to get going now, okay." Sam had a tater tot in her mouth when she looked over at her sister.

"Okay, Mich-"

"What is that, Sam?" Sam remembered that she had food in her mouth so she quickly chewed and swallowed before continuing.

"Okay Michelle, is that better?"

"Yes, it's much better. I'm going to come by after school today and give you a walkthrough of the school if you want."

"Yes! That sounds like fun!" Michelle closed her eyes and smiled as she rubbed Sam's head. "Do you think Freddie can come with us?"

"Your friend can definitely come with us, but we'll have to see what his parents want to do." Sam nodded and gave Michelle a hug. She leaned toward her ear and whispered.

"Sis, whatever you do, don't get lost! If you do, then come back here and I'll try to show you where to go!" Michelle laughed lightly and kissed Sam on the cheek.

"Don't worry, I think I'll be okay. See you after school." Sam and Freddie waved as Michelle left the classroom.

"Your sister's nice," Freddie said while taking a bite of his food.

"I love her, she's great! Did you know her favorite food is ham? I've had it once, I don't really like it. She eats it all the time." Sam took another bite of her food and hummed as she swallowed it. "Michelle was right, this food is really good!"

"Yeah, it is."

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Second Chapter. Review if you will.


	3. Big Brother and Sister

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: IMPORTANT-A good thing to keep in mind is this will NOT be like usual past stories. Carly coming _will_ have an effect, but her appearance will NOT be the sole reason for the change in Sam and Freddie!

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Chapter 3 (Big Brother and Sister)

After school, Sam and Freddie were playing in the front area while Michelle was reading a book. They had just been given a tour of the entire school, complements of Michelle. They were waiting for their older siblings to come pick them up, Freddie was going to try to convince Joshua to take him to Sam's home.

Michelle looked up from her book and smiled as Freddie ran around Sam, they were playing a game of tag. The two stopped and looked at her, they quickly walked over to her and looked at the book with curiosity. "I'm reading this for my class," Michelle said as she slowly closed the book. She showed them the cover and held her smile. "Do you know what this says?" Sam and Freddie looked at the cover and tried to read what the big words were.

"W-W-Ware the red…" Sam scrunched her face up and tried again.

"Where the Red F-fern grows," Freddie said with a smile. Sam looked at him and poked him in the arm. "Hey!" He had beaten her to it.

"I was going to say that!" Michelle laughed and gave Sam a hug.

"You did well though, Sam," Michelle said while rubbing her hand through Sam's hair. At five, Sam still had a little trouble reading, but she could get most words down. "Anyway, Where the Red Fern Grows, I had to read it last year too, but that's fine. It's actually a very sad book. It tells the story of a ten year old boy who makes some money to get two coon hounds in the book and he trains them to find game."

"What is game?" Freddie asked as he raised a curious eyebrow.

"Game is like…other animals that people hunt. It's where people hunt things like duck. The story is good, but it ends up being very sad because, well…it just is. You'll have to read this book when you get into fifth and sixth grade most likely. I think it's a boring read, but that's just me."

"So if it is boring, then why are you reading it?" Sam asked as she stared at the front cover of the book. Michelle chuckled lightly and looked to the glass doors, she saw Ciara parking the car outside. Sam looked over and grinned as she saw her eldest sister leaving the car. Ciara started walking toward the door and entered to see Sam rushing toward her. "Ciara, you're here, finally!" Ciara laughed as she knelt down and hugged Sam closely.

"Hey Sam, it's great to see you," Ciara said while rubbing her sister's hair. She looked over at Freddie and smiled. "Who is this?"

"That's my new friend, Freddie Benson!" Sam hurried over to Freddie and grabbed his hand, she then pulled him over to Ciara. "Can he come and visit? Please?" Ciara rubbed her chin as Michelle stood up and walked over to the group. "I want him to come over, he's really nice!" Freddie chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head, starting to feel a bit nervous. "In fact, his brother's coming to pick him up, so we can have him over too!"

"I don't know, Sam…"

"Oh _please_ let him come over!" Sam hugged Ciara's waist and looked up at her. Ciara chuckled lightly and crossed her arms, there was no way she could deny that from her sister.

"Well…we will see what his brother says when he gets here. Mom and Dad are both at work right now and I have homework that I need to do. Maybe if you promise to play inside or stay in the backyard it'll be okay." Sam squealed with joy and Freddie grinned happily. He looked toward the door and saw Joshua's car drive up behind Ciara's. Josh stepped out of the car and walked toward the door, he entered and smiled while looking at Freddie.

"Josh!" Freddie called out while hurrying over toward his brother. Josh scooped Freddie up and laughed.

"Hey there little bro, what's going on?" Josh asked while smiling. "Are you ready to go home?"

"Wait! I want you to meet someone!" Josh shrugged and set Freddie back onto the ground, he pushed his hands into his pocket and followed Freddie over to Sam and the others. "This is Sam Puckett, she's my new friend!" Sam grinned and waved at Josh. "I want to go to her place, can I go visit her?"

"Well I don't know, Mom and Dad had been called in for their job, so I guess it wouldn't be bad…but I have homework that needs to be finished." Josh looked from Sam to her sisters, he smiled at Michelle and paused upon seeing Ciara. She had sandy blonde hair that reached her shoulders and vibrant, hypnotic blue eyes. "Um, hi there, I'm Josh Benson." Josh held out his hand and Ciara smirked while shaking it.

"I'm Ciara Puckett, it's good to meet you," Ciara replied. She was quite caught up in his hazel colored eyes, they seemed to shine like a jewel. Their handshake lasted for a few seconds before they released and turned toward their younger siblings.

"Well Freddie, I guess it would be okay to visit your new friend, but I will have to call Mom and Dad." Freddie's eyes brightened as Josh pulled out his phone and dialed his dad's number. After a minute of talking, he finally hung up and looked toward his brother, smirking at the hopeful look in his eyes. "Well…I don't know." He slowly slipped the phone into his pocket and crossed his arms. "I could tell you what Dad said, but I'm not sure how much you're going to like it."

"Oh no, I want to visit my new friend!" Freddie said as he quickly put on a pleading look. Ciara crossed her arms and rolled her eyes while smirking, she and Michelle could easily tell that Josh was messing with Freddie at the moment. Josh sighed and closed his eyes while holding his arms out.

"Well Freddie, I'm sorry…" Freddie started to slump and Josh merely smirked at him. "Don't worry, Dad said it was fine. We just need to get home by six." Freddie's gasped with excitement and jumped up into the air.

"Yes! Thank you brother!" The elder siblings laughed while Michelle started placing her book into her backpack. Ciara crossed her arms and stepped next to Joshua, wondering if he would be able to do his homework that he said he had.

"Hey, didn't you say you had some homework to do?" Ciara asked while tapping her foot once. Joshua smiled and ran his hand through his hair, trying to straighten it slightly.

"Yeah, it's no big deal. All I really have is math by Mrs. Baron, I can do it just fine." Ciara's mouth formed an O shape and she nodded her head, she had homework in that class too.

"Is it the graph assignment for pages twenty through twenty two?"

"Yeah, that's the work."

"Cool, I have to do that assignment too, maybe we can help each other out. Odd, I don't recall seeing you at the school…"

"Yeah, I'm usually around. You might have seen me in the hallways but never noticed."

"Weird, I'm sure I'd remember your face. Oh well." Ciara turned to Sam and Freddie, smiling at them. "Okay, so do you want to ride with Josh or with me?" Sam instantly took Freddie's hand and pulled her toward Ciara, signaling that he would be riding with her.

"Okay, let's get going. Freddie, if you're going to ride with your friend, then I will be fine with it. I'm just going to follow." Michelle raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms, growing slightly impatient.

"Yeah, let's go before I steal your keys and drive the car myself," Michelle said while smirking and walking out the door. The others quickly followed after and made their way to the cars. Sam and Freddie remembered their earlier bet and grinned as they moved up to their older siblings.

"Sis, what is your um…GPA, what's that again?" Sam asked while tilting her head. Ciara looked down and smiled lightly.

"Grade Point Average, it's how high your scores are. Say how many A's you get in school. If you get more A's than you get B's then you will have a higher GPA. The higher it is, the better. If yours is the highest, you can be the school's valedictorian when you graduate. The valedictorian can be considered the smartest person in the school, but…"

"Cool, what is your GPA?" Ciara raised her eyebrow and chuckled as she reached her car.

"4.70. The highest can be 5.0, but currently I stand at the highest." Sam grinned and looked over at Freddie's brother.

"Josh, what's your GPA!" Josh and Ciara both raised their eyebrows and looked at each other briefly.

"I have a GPA of 4.63." Sam tapped her chin in confusion, trying to figure out which was higher. "Ciara's grade is higher." He looked at Ciara and smirked lightly. "But grade average doesn't necessarily measure how smart someone is."

"Ah, but I'm still smarter," Ciara said with a smirk. "See you at the house, Benson." Ciara unlocked her car and everyone entered. Joshua unlocked his car door and leaned against it while watching Ciara's car drive off. She stopped at the end of the parking lot and rolled down her window, sticking her head out of the car. "What are you waiting for? Hurry up or you might never find my house!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever…" He chuckled and entered his car. He had no clue why Sam or Freddie would be interested in the GPA, but he could see in the back of Ciara's car, Sam was cheering. Perhaps they wanted to see which of their older siblings were smarter, he wouldn't know. He started up the car and followed her out of the parking lot and toward her home. _"Odd that I hadn't seen her at the school, I'm always toying around in the halls. I bet she doesn't get to school in the early morning…"_


	4. Reaching Home

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

* * *

Chapter 4 (Reaching Home)

Michelle set her book down on the car seat and looked into the side mirror, seeing Josh following them. She was sort of bored, and hearing Sam and Freddie laughing without knowing what they were laughing about was boring as well. She turned to Ciara and smirked, receiving a suspicious look from her elder sister. "Hey Ciara, how about we do something fun?" She asked while turning her smirk into a toothy grin.

"And what might that be?" Ciara asked as her eyes drifted back to the road. They were only a few streets from home, of course, it was still in walking distance of the school. "If it involves one of your pranks, I don't think it'd be nice to do." She pegged her sister from the start, but it was just because she knew her sister well. After all, Michelle was a good student, but slightly that of a troublemaker. In fact, she may have been all troublemaker.

"I say we drive around the city, leading Josh all over the place for a long amount of time!" Ciara raised her eyebrow and chuckled, she looked toward her gas meter and shook her head.

"I am running low on gas, Michelle. Besides…" She looked into the rearview mirror and smiled lightly. It looked a little like Josh was getting tired, he must have been doing something exhausting. "I don't think it'd be right to do that to the guy." Michelle sighed and shrugged her shoulders in defeat, maybe Ciara was right, there would be no point to it. Sam and Freddie had been watching from the backseat, Freddie blinked and looked over at Sam.

"Is Michelle always like that?" Freddie asked while raising a curious eyebrow. Sam gave a light laugh and nodded her head, she always thought Michelle was crazy and fun. "Why does she want to drive my brother around the city?" Ciara chuckled and smiled while glancing into the rearview mirror.

"Don't worry Freddie, we won't be doing that. I have to get homework done anyway. I'm surprised, I have the same teacher as Josh, but not the same class period…still I'm shocked I never met him before. Your brother is just under me in the GPA department, that's pretty impressive."

"Yeah, Josh is really smart." Ciara nodded and turned a corner. She thought for a moment then smirked at Michelle.

"You heard the boy, he's pretty smart, so we probably couldn't lose him that easily." Well, truth be told, she didn't really want to lead him on a wild goose chase. "Just get that reading done when we get home."

"Aw, but I hate reading," Michelle said while sighing. She had no choice in the matter, really. She looked back at Sam and smiled. "Sad to say, I can't play with you for a little while, I have homework and apparently reading to catch up on. At least you have your friend, though!"

"Yeah, that's true," Sam responded. She smiled and looked at Freddie, he glanced at her and saw her smirking at him. "It looks like you have to be my friend and play with me now, because Ciara's smarter and I won the bet!"

"Smartness doesn't have anything to do the GPA thingy!" Freddie proclaimed in defense. Sam shrugged and held her smirk.

"Ciara's still smarter." Ciara blinked and glanced at Sam through the mirror.

"Don't scare off your first friend, Sam," Ciara said with a slight chuckle.

"I won't do that! I don't want to do that…" Sam looked out the window and Freddie glanced over at her, he figured since she was shy, he was probably the only person she actually talked to. He smiled and slowly shook his head.

"Nah, Sam can't scare me from being her friend that easily! Though we need to do something about that shyness she has." Sam looked back to Freddie and blinked, not sure what he was talking about. Ciara pulled into the driveway and exited the car with the others. She looked over and watched as Josh pulled up and parked beside the curb. He exited the car and glanced over at Ciara.

"Well, I made it," Josh said while walking toward the group. "I hope you weren't planning on throwing me off course." He smirked and Ciara shot a look toward Michelle. Michelle gave a sigh and shrugged her shoulders while walking toward the front door. "So, why haven't I seen you around school? I'm always hanging around in the halls. Don't tell me you spend all your time in the library."

"No, I just have two little sisters that I get to try and wake up then I fall asleep again…" She chuckled and crossed her arms. "Actually I just don't get to the school earlier than maybe ten or fifteen minutes before class. I usually leave right away to do my homework or…I would hang out with my boyfriend." Josh blinked and Ciara shifted her eyes to the side.

"You have a boyfriend?"

"We broke up."

"Oh, I'm sorry. It must be pretty rough." Ciara smiled and turned around, she didn't really care all that much anymore.

"It's fine, he wasn't a very good person anyway." She walked toward the door and spotted Michelle leaning against it, reading her book. She had a bored expression on her face, probably from waiting for Ciara to unlock the door. "Okay guys, I'm coming in. Sam, you and Freddie can play in your room or outside in the backyard."

"Okay, we understand," Sam said as Ciara opened the door. She and Freddie hurried inside, Michelle entered and immediately walked to her room. Ciara stepped inside and glanced toward the hallway and toward Michelle's room.

"Michelle, I'll be checking in on you, so you better be doing your homework!" She chuckled and looked at Sam and Freddie. "Supper will be ready when Mom and Dad get here, can you hold it in until then?"

"Yes."

"Okay then, I'm going to be in my room. If you need me or Josh, you know where to find us." Sam nodded as Ciara and Josh walked toward Ciara's bedroom. Sam and Freddie looked around the living room and wondered what they could do. There was a fort outside, so they could play on that. Or they could play with the toys in Sam's bedroom. Sam didn't own but maybe a few Barbie dolls, so Freddie didn't need to worry about that.

"We can play in my room with my toys." Freddie's face twisted slightly in fear, since he thought girls had nothing but dolls and stuffed animals. Sam looked at him and blinked, realizing what he probably thought. "Don't worry, my room isn't filled with girly stuff. I have some dolls, but we don't have to play with those if you don't want to. I normally play with stuff like the horses, but I also have some video games…my sister says that boys like video games."

"I guess it wouldn't be too bad." Sam grinned and pulled Freddie's wrist, pulling him toward the bedroom. They stopped when they heard Ciara and Josh talking, suddenly Sam got an idea. "Hey, you want to see what my sister and your brother are talking about?"

"Isn't that eavesdropping?"

"Yeah, but its okay!" Freddie rolled his eyes and smiled as they moved toward the door.

"That was really harsh of him," Josh said with a groan. "I mean why would someone do that? Hell, I'd never ignore my girlfriend all the time."

"Yeah, you're saying you have a girlfriend?" Ciara asked with a curious tone of voice.

"Nah, but the last girlfriend I did have was too…_perfect_ if you know what I mean. Everyone loved her, she didn't have a bad bone in her body. We broke up because there just wasn't anything interesting happening with the relationship, it was basically going nowhere." Ciara nodded and leaned back, she could understand that. "Breakups are hard, that's for sure."

"I know, and I broke up with him about a month ago. He was just a self obsessive jerk…"

"Sounds like he'd be perfect for Traci…"

"Was that your girlfriend's name?"

"Traci Beckham, that was her name." Ciara tapped her chin and hummed slightly, the name was definitely familiar.

"I think I had a class with her! She definitely seemed a bit prissy in a way…If you don't mind me saying."

"No, not at all…" Josh smiled and sat on the bed as Ciara leaned back in the chair she was in. "Your boyfriend sounds a lot like George Shultz."

"Yes, that was him." Josh made a gagging sound and stuck his tongue out, causing Ciara to laugh. "What?"

"Not to say anything, but you're lucky you broke up with him when you did. That guy is a flirt…" Ciara shifted her eyes to the side and exhaled slowly.

"I know, he always was, even when we dated…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring up any old wounds."

"It's okay! I'm fine with it now." Ciara turned back to her homework and smiled lightly. "So, let's get onto the work." Josh nodded and moved toward the desk. Sam and Freddie moved away from the door and walked toward her room.

"Wow, I have absolutely _no_ clue what they were talking about," Sam said while rubbing the back of her head. She looked over and saw Michelle watching her with raised eyebrows, she grinned and waved. "Hi Michelle, what are you doing?"

"I could ask you that question, eavesdropping is not a good thing to do," Michelle said while rubbing Sam's hair. "Especially since it's an invasion of someone else's privacy…"

"I'm sorry. What does the word _flirt_ mean though?" Michelle raised her eyebrows and Sam crossed her arms in confusion. "Ciara says her old boyfriend used to flirt around a lot." Michelle's eyebrows furrowed and she gestured for Sam to move.

"It's not important right now, but you should get away from Ciara's door before she comes out and finds you were eavesdropping."

"Oh, right!" Sam laughed once and pulled Freddie into her room, hoping to play some games with him.

* * *

Chapter 4, hope you've enjoyed it thus far. Review if you will ^_^


	5. Positive Effect

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

* * *

Chapter 5 (A Positive Effect)

After about a week, Sam and Freddie were the greatest of friends. Every day at school, they would play with each other at recess, and Freddie was doing his best to help Sam not to be so shy. She didn't like to play with the other kids because she was afraid of what they would think of her. Every day was a new adventure for them, a new activity that they would do. On this day, they were playing with some ants on the ground.

Freddie was placing sticks and leaves in one direction while Sam would crush them with a stick. Sometimes Freddie would crush them with a stick, sometimes they used their fingers or their shoes. Either way, they enjoyed it. They had their one little spot in the schoolyard that nobody really ever bothered in. They would play until Mrs. Eberly called the class in for the day. Sam sat back against a tree and smiled at Freddie as he moved toward her.

"This is fun," Sam said with a quick grin. "I think Ciara and Joshua are friends also!" Freddie nodded in agreement and sat next to her. He took his backpack and pulled out a juice box. He turned to Sam and smiled.

"You want a drink?" Sam nodded and took the offering, she grinned and sipped from it. During the first week of their friendship, they noticed their eldest siblings spending a lot of time with each other. Typically, it was in moments of where they'd study for school. However, eavesdropping proved that they weren't always studying. Rather, they were talking about their personal lives.

"Freddie, what is a divorce?" Freddie shrugged and removed a second drink pouch, he had no clue what a divorce was, but Joshua told Ciara that his parents were going to go through that. He didn't know much. Yet, seemed that Marissa had lost the flame that had been with the relationship. "If you don't know what a divorce is, then why is it happening?"

"I guess I don't have any control over that, but I'm hoping it isn't anything bad." Sam nodded in agreement and looked up into the sky. Freddie glance up and smiled, it was a beautiful day.

"Freddie, will we always be friends?" Freddie glanced over at Sam and smiled as he nodded his head.

"I promise, we will always be friends." He hugged Sam and she grinned widely. "After school, do you think we could get your mom to let us go to the park?"

"I don't know…" Sam looked around and saw Michelle tugging at someone's underwear, wearing a large grin on her face while the person's face grew red. "There's Michelle, maybe we could ask her!" Freddie nodded and the two kids ran over to where Michelle was. Michelle patted her hands together and then patted the kid's back.

"There you go, complimentary…no charge at all!" Michelle stated while the kid ran off. She turned around and smiled at Sam. "Hey, how are you, Sam?" Sam quickly hugged Michelle and looked into her eyes with a bright smile.

"I'm fine, but Freddie and I wanted to know if we could go to the park after school."

"Well, I don't know if I'll be going there or not, but Ciara might feel fine with going. I can go to the office and call up Ciara's cell phone, she won't mind." Ciara would most likely mind, since she was still in school at the time. She might not be happy with Michelle calling her, but who really knew.

"Thanks!" Michelle smiled and moved toward the school, she wondered if that kid was going to complain about having a wedgie or not. Freddie and Sam walked toward the swings and spotted a boy swinging on them, they recognized him as one of their classmates in the classroom.

"Hey Sam, let's talk to this guy!" Freddie suggested while tugging on her arm. Sam moaned lightly and shook her head.

"No, I don't want to…I'm scared." Freddie took her hand and gave her a kind smile, he knew she was shy, and the only way to fix that was to talk to people. Freddie met this kid once before, so he new he was nice. The kid smiled and walked over to them.

"Don't worry, he's nice. You'll like him." Sam stared at he boy and shrunk slightly behind Freddie, she was using him as a shield and protector. Freddie saw this and looked toward the boy, figuring he'd better start the conversation. "Hey Chance, how are you?"

"I'm doing great, just got done messing around with the swings," Chance replied as he crossed his arms and tilted his head. "So, you're hanging out with Sam today?"

"Yeah, I'd play baseball with you, but I want to hang out with Sam." Chance smirked and Freddie raised his eyebrow. "What?"

"Oh nothing…" Sam stepped out an inch and continued to frown, she was considering talking to Chance because Freddie knew him, but she was still unsure whether she should or not. Chance smiled at her and waved. "Hi Sam, how are you?" Sam jumped slightly and sank back behind Freddie, she made sure to keep only one part of her out from behind her cover. "Um…"

"Don't worry, she's just a little shy of people…" Freddie looked back and smiled at her. "Come on Sam, talk to Chance, you'd like him." She still wasn't sure, and it had been easier when she met Freddie, but she didn't really know why that was. "If you don't come out of hiding, I'm going to make you." Sam blinked and Freddie sidestepped, uncovering her. She yelped and Freddie quickly stepped behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Now you can't hide."

"You're a big meanie, Freddie!" Sam said with a shocked tone of voice.

"Aw, but I'm nice," Chance said quietly. "Don't you want to talk to me?" He pouted a lip out and Sam blinked at him, feeling bad for him. She stepped forward and swallowed, feeling Freddie move his arms away from her. He smiled as she rubbed the back of her head and smiled.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be mean…I'm Sam Puckett."

"Cool! Do you and Freddie want to swing with me?"

"Yeah, that sounds like fun!" Sam hurried over to a swing and Freddie flashed a triumphant smile, it seemed like Sam was making her second friend. Soon, she'd probably be able to make friends on her own. "Freddie! Come push me!" He shrugged and moved behind her, pushing her wouldn't be a problem. He gripped the chain and pulled her back, then he pushed her into the air. Sam let out a gleeful squeal as her swing moved forward and back, Freddie and Chance continued taking turns in pushing her.

"Sam!" Michelle's voice called from behind, it had been a good ten minutes that the kids were swinging. "I finally found you!" She laughed and hurried over to where her sister was. Sam stood up and hugged her.

"I hope I didn't worry you."

"No you didn't." Michelle looked over at Chance and then back to Sam. "Who is this?"

"This is my new friend, Freddie helped me meet him!" Michelle ran her hand through her hair and grinned, pleased that Sam made another friend.

"I'm glad. Also, I spoke with Ciara…she didn't like me calling her, but that's fine. She said that Ciara was picking you up later and probably go to the park as well."

"Great!" Sam turned to Chance and smiled at him. "Would you like to join us at the park?"

"No, I have to go home and help my dad with something, but thanks for the offer."

-NEW SCENE-

"So you made a new friend today?" Ciara asked as she made her way to the park bench. Sam nodded and Ciara rubbed Sam's head. "I'm proud of you. As for you, Michelle…" She looked over to Michelle and narrowed her eyes. "Calling me while I'm in school, and did you tell me earlier you had just given someone a wedgie?" Michelle chuckled nervously and Ciara shook her head, smiling slightly. "No matter…"

"What? You usually scold me for that," Michelle stated matter-of-factly. Ciara shrugged and Freddie glanced over at the park bench. He saw Joshua and smiled.

"Josh!" Freddie called out. Josh lifted his head from a notepad and Freddie ran over to him. He gave Josh a hug and Michelle raised her eyebrow. She didn't expect Freddie's brother to come along. That, and the fact that Ciara just let something that she did slip past was very intriguing. "I didn't know you'd be here!"

"Yeah, well Ciara asked me to come along, and since we don't really have any homework, we can look after our little siblings," Josh replied with a small smile. Ciara smiled and sat next to him, placing her backpack on the ground next to his. "Now don't you two go too far off, stay where we can see you." Sam and Freddie nodded and ran toward the swing sets. Michelle remained standing in front of Ciara and Josh, placing her hands on her hips and eyeing them suspiciously.

"You guys have been hanging out with each other a lot lately," Michelle said with a slightly raised eyebrow and a tiny smile tugging at her lips. "I'm just wondering…"

"He's a new friend now," Ciara said while looking at Joshua's notepad. He had been drawing scenery of the park, it looked beautiful. "That looks great!"

"Thanks. I really want to get a view from the bridge over there…" Ciara looked toward the bridge on the top of the hill, it seemed to be a nice place above the park, one could see anything from up there.

"Sure, let's go up there." Michelle's lips parted and she watched as her sister left with Josh. She kept her eyes on them as they reached the bridge. Ciara's fingers brushed over the railing and she gazed down at the swing sets. "It really is a beautiful sight from up here."

"Yeah, it is." He looked down and saw Freddie and Sam pushing each other on the swings. "And there are out two siblings. I worry about Freddie, with what's going on lately…" Ciara frowned and nodded her head, knowing full well that Josh was talking about the divorce that would be happening. "Dad wants custody, but something tells me that Freddie and I are going to be split apart between our parents."

"Oh my gosh, why are your parents even looking into divorce? That just doesn't seem right…They love each other, don't they?"

"They do, but Mom feels like she's not getting any time with Dad and he doesn't have time to show her how much he loves her. I should know, both Mom and Dad have talked to me about it…"

"Well then, there needs to be something to rekindle that flame!" Josh sighed and closed his eyes, he couldn't think of anything at all that would work.

"Do you have anything? It's really dad's work that's keeping him away, that's why Mom thinks he doesn't love her anymore."

"Hmm, well your father is a police officer…of course he's getting called in all the time. I'm sure I can think of something, if that is the sole reason, then it can easily be fixed…besides…" Ciara placed her hand over Josh's and smiled politely. "We're the school's two smartest people, I'm sure we can figure something out here."

"Thanks…I really wouldn't want Freddie to be depressed, you know."

"Well don't worry, he won't be." Ciara turned and looked toward Sam and Freddie. She smiled and closed her eyes, thankful that Sam had a good friend like Freddie. "I'm glad Sam met him, he is having a great affect on her, I can tell." Josh nodded in agreement and smiled at the two, there was nothing more that he wanted for his brother than to see him happy, and it seemed like Sam was doing just that for him.

"She's having a positive effect on him as well."

* * *

I don't have anything to add this time around, so I hope you enjoyed the chapter.


	6. First Bet

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

* * *

Chapter 6 (First Bet)

Another few weeks went by and Freddie and Sam noticed their siblings spending more and more time together. It was peculiar to them, but they didn't seem to mind all that much. For them, it was the last day of October, which meant Halloween was that very night. Sam wanted to dress up like a mermaid while Freddie was going to dress up as a young vampire who had to pull Sam around in a Cherry colored wagon.

Josh and Ciara would be going with them on that night of course, Michelle would be at a Halloween party with friends. Freddie and Sam were always excited to play together, though they could have used some more friends. Nobody ever pushed for them to make more friends, though. It wasn't necessary to do that, even though it would be nice if they did make some other friends to play with.

Josh walked into Freddie's room and smirked at his brother, Freddie was looking like a natural vampire. Freddie didn't have the blood on the mouth, though. He wanted Josh to dress up like a vampire too, so he did. Josh looked like the more frightening vampire. He had all of the looks down, including the blood on his mouth. "Hey Freddie, are you ready to go?" Josh asked as he crossed his arms over and tilted his head. "The girls will be here soon, we don't want to miss them, now do we?"

"No!" Freddie replied as he got up from his bed. In his hands, he had a small video game console. Josh rolled his eyes and chuckled as he took the game from Freddie. "Hey! Brother, why did you do that?" Freddie reached for the console, but Josh turned and walked out of the room. Freddie quickly followed after.

"It's Halloween night, Freddie. Would you rather play a game on this than to gather up the candy of the neighborhood?" Freddie stopped abruptly and his jaw fell. Josh was right, there wasn't any reason to play a game at such a time. Freddie needed to get candy. Besides, he and Sam were going to see who got the most, then they were going to put all their candy together and munch. Josh set the handheld on the kitchen counter and moved his hands to a large bag. "This will be your candy bag, okay?"

"Wow, you think I'll get that much candy?" Freddie's eyes beamed with excitement and wonder as Josh handed him the bag. Josh didn't think Freddie would get the entire bag filled, but he did think that he'd get more candy than what the standard buckets had, and there wasn't really anything bigger than those. So naturally, Josh improvised by using a large bag. He chuckled slightly and placed an elbow on the counter.

"Well we're just going to have to see. It all depends on whether you make a good vampire tonight or not." Josh ruffled Freddie's hair and caused him to laugh. This was going to be a fun night, that was for sure. Josh looked to the kitchen mirror and stared at himself, he chuckled and looked back to Freddie. "Hey, you think Ciara's going to like my costume?" Freddie tapped his chin and grinned widely, if anything, Ciara was going to find it interesting.

"Yeah, I think she'll like it a lot!" Freddie watched as Josh smiled lightly and ran his hand through his hair. He titled his head and blinked for a moment. "Hey Joshua, do you like Ciara?" Josh froze slightly and chuckled nervously while averting his eyes from Freddie's gaze.

"No, not like that…Ciara's just a really good friend. She's just like Sam is to you." Freddie's mouth formed an O shape and he stared at his brother with the most serious face he could muster. Josh was rubbing the back of his head and his face was slowly turning red.

"You mean she's like a _best friend_?" Josh moved his hand back and by his side. He smiled at Freddie and leaned back a tiny bit. It seemed natural for Freddie to consider Sam as a best friend by now, he was proud of his younger brother.

"Yes, yes she is like a best friend." Freddie beamed with excitement, causing Josh to laugh in response. He and Ciara did do a lot of things together, especially the last few weeks. They had been trying to get his parents to stay together, and it seemed like it was working out. He hoped it would be fine and they would stay together. The problem just seemed to be lack of time spent together.

"I think Sam's a great friend! She was shy before, but she doesn't seem as shy anymore. I don't think she holds it against me anymore that I accidently kicked her in the face…" Freddie scrunched his face guiltily and Josh rubbed his back, smiling kindly.

"I don't think you need to worry about that anymore…"

"I guess not, but I didn't mean to do it!" Josh rolled his eyes and laughed once as the doorbell rang. Freddie looked over and frowned. "Tell them we don't have any candy." Josh laughed again and walked toward the door.

"Relax, it should just be Ciara and Sam." He opened the door and saw what appeared to be a brilliant princess standing in the doorway next to a mermaid in a wagon. "Hey Ciara, you look…great!" Ciara was wearing a long white dress that was frilly at the bottom. She also had a tiara in her hair. She rubbed her chin and stared at Josh with a subtle smirk.

"Yes, and don't you look charming," she replied. Josh looked down at himself and gave a brief nervous chuckle.

"Yeah well…Freddie wanted to me to dress like him this year, so I did." Ciara raised her eyebrows and smiled as she gave an approving nod.

"That's very nice of you." Josh nodded and moved back inside to retrieve Freddie. Sam looked to her sister and caught her staring off into the distance.

"Ciara, do you like Josh?" Sam asked with a quick voice. Ciara closed her eyes and chuckled, failing to conceal the start of a blush.

"He's just a close friend…do you like Freddie?"

"What? No!" Sam crossed her arms and looked away quickly, she wasn't about to say she liked Freddie as anything more than a friend. Ciara smirked triumphantly and glanced back into the house. Freddie and Josh were walking toward the door. Sam glanced over and blinked. "Sister, if we're two princesses and they're two vampires…how does that work together?" Ciara slowly shook her head and smiled as Josh and Freddie stepped in front of them.

"The vampire lords are at your service," Josh said with a smirk. Ciara laughed at the ridiculousness of the statement and stepped back so Josh could exit.

"I think you should know, that was very cheesy," Ciara stated with half lidded eyes. Josh shrugged and locked the door. She rubbed her chin and stared at him for a moment, contemplating his look. "You have blood on your face and you've got two young kids next to you. You're either a pure genius, or a dumb idiot." Josh raised his eyebrow and smirked as he turned around.

"Nah, I'm sure they've seen worse. Hey, we can't all look stunningly great, now can we?" Ciara felt he was referring to her, so she quickly looked away, hoping to conceal a blush. Josh chuckled and looked to Freddie. "Hey Freddie, I think the mermaid should be pulled around now. Let's go get the candy!" Freddie nodded and took the wagon handle. He looked to Sam and grinned.

"Hi!" Freddie said with a gleeful voice. Sam's eyes brightened and a smile graced her face.

"Hi Freddie, look at the bag that Ciara gave me!" Sam held up her bag and grinned with confidence. She felt that she had the bigger bag. Freddie held up his bag and smirked.

"Mine's bigger." Sam's mouth fell as she eyed the sack in his hands, it was definitely bigger than hers, though not by much.

"Oh yeah…well…I bet I'll still get more candy than you!"

"I bet I will!" Sam smirked, it was a wager they could make.

"Okay, then if I get more candy…I get to take Velvet home with me for a week!" Velvet was Freddie's stuffed teddy bear, it sat on the top of his dresser. He didn't actually sleep with it. It merely sat there and warded off things like evil clowns or weird porcelain dolls. He hated dolls, they were just creepy and bug eyed. Freddie's eyes widened slightly at the wager, he couldn't possibly lose Velvet. He needed to think of a counter, and fast.

"Okay, and if I get more candy, then..." Freddie looked back as he pulled on Sam's wagon. Ciara and Josh were walking slightly behind them and talking about things Freddie didn't know. "Then Ciara has to ask my brother out!" The older siblings stopped walking and froze in shock. Ciara's mouth fell and Josh's face began turning red.

"No fair! I wanted to bet that Josh had to ask Ciara out!" The older siblings breathed out and slowly turned their heads toward their younger relatives. Freddie and Sam glanced at them while chuckling nervously.

"You may want to run now," Josh said in a slow and menacing voice. Sam laughed and quickly pushed her wagon.

"Go Freddie, go!" Freddie laughed and pulled the wagon, running down the street. Josh chased after them and Ciara merely sighed, she couldn't exactly run in what she was wearing. She lifted her eyes upward and smiled, this was definitely going to be a fun night.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed it!


	7. Snowball War

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

* * *

Chapter 7 (Snowball War)

A few months later, everyone was getting ready for Christmas. School was out, and there was a layer of snow on the ground. It was one of those few times when there was enough for a snowball fight and perhaps to build a snowman. It rarely snowed that much in Seattle, so Sam and Freddie could easily say this was the first time they experienced snow. Joshua had brought Freddie over to Sam's place so they could all play together. It seemed also that the Benson family wasn't going to go through a divorce.

When they arrived, they found Ciara leaning against the wall with a smirk on her face. Joshua started walking toward her, but soon found a snowball colliding with his face. He yelped and looked over as Michelle stepped out from behind a tree, it was then that he knew the Puckett girls were up to no good. As Freddie walked toward him, he turned around and shouted out. "Freddie, if you value your life, _run!_" Freddie paused and Joshua ran toward him, seeing Sam popping up from behind. "No!"

He wrapped his arm around Freddie and was soon bombarded with snowballs from all directions. The girls were laughing as they continued with their assault, they were not giving in yet. Josh fell back against the snow and closed his hands together, he wasn't down for the count yet. The girls waited and watched, as silent predators. Josh molded the snow in his hands and quickly shot up. He threw one snowball toward Ciara and the other toward Michelle. Both girls dodged the snowballs with ease, smirking widely.

"You think you can bring down a dodgeball champ so easily?" Michelle asked with a wide grin. She wasn't really a champ, but she considered herself one in gym class. They played dodgeball every Thursday and she was often the winner. She scooped up snow and pressed it together. By now, Josh would have to figure that Michelle was capable of putting rocks in a snowball. "You're going down, Benson brothers!" Josh paled and grabbed Freddie. The two ran off into some tree groups. They looked out of the shelter and watched as the three Puckett girls ran past them.

"Freddie, I'm going to teach you how to make your first snowball."

"That sounds cool, show me!" Josh nodded and piled some snow on the ground, Freddie mimicked him.

"First, pile the snow like so. Then you should scoop it up." He scooped the snow in his hand and started packing it together. "If you pack it together, it really helps with the firmness." Freddie nodded and listened intently to his brother. Joshua had a devilish grin on his face. "We'll get the girls. They've begun this snowball fight, and now we'll be sure to win it!"

"Yeah, we don't want the girls to beat us!" Josh laughed and rubbed Freddie's hair, he was growing well. Freddie started to hurry out, but Josh placed his hand onto Freddie's shoulder.

"Keep in mind, the girls are _vicious_. We can't just go running like wild, they're cunning, so we need to be sneaky as well." Freddie nodded and stepped back. His brother was right, and also wet from snow. Just as Josh looked out from the trees, he spotted a snowball flying toward them. "Get down!" He tackled Freddie to the ground and looked up as the snowball flew overhead. "They found us, Freddie!"

"There's a note on the snowball!" Josh raised his eyebrow and stood up, dusting himself off. Freddie grabbed the note and started to read it, having some trouble with it. "Meet us at the shed for terms…" He looked at Josh in hopes that he would know what to do. Josh looked up and rubbed his chin, it seemed that the girls wished to strike a deal.

"We will go and meet the girls and discuss the terms, come with me Freddie." Freddie nodded and followed Josh as they walked behind the house and toward a large shed. When they arrived at the door, they could see three snow angels on the ground. Josh closed his eyes and chuckled as he lifted his hand up. He knocked on the door and heard Ciara's voice ordering him to enter. He opened the door and saw Ciara standing toward the back of the shed. In front of her and to the side a bit stood Sam and Michelle. Freddie started to go toward Sam, but Josh placed his hand on Freddie's shoulder and narrowed his eyes, never taking his eyes off of Ciara. "Don't fraternize with the enemy."

"What does fraternize mean?"

"It basically means associate with them until the war is over."

"Right!" Ciara smirked deeper and walked toward Josh.

"Here are the terms of this little snowball war," Ciara said as she crossed her arms. She knew she had an advantage over Josh, since there were three on her team. Freddie moved over to Sam and associated with the enemy. He and Sam began talking, but listening as their older siblings discussed the terms. "All out war…we will fight on until the youngest member of whichever team is exhausted. If they exhaust first, we shall then fight till the remaining team members are exhausted. Losing team has to serve the winning team some food and drinks."

"Those are your terms? To go until exhausted?"

"Then we will all go inside for hot chocolate, yes. Are you interested?" Josh smirked and nodded his head, he could go with those terms. He glanced over to see Freddie talking with Sam and Michelle, his eyes widened and Ciara turned around.

"Freddie! Don't betray us!" Freddie grinned and hurried over to him. Josh smiled and shook his head slightly. Josh crossed his arms and Ciara turned back to meet her gaze. "Shall we make team names?"

"Sure, how does the Pretty Pucketts work for you?"

"Pretty Puckett, eh it works for you. Freddie and I don't mind the Benson Brothers, right Freddie?"

"Yeah brother, I like that."

"Then the war is on. Freddie, let's move out!" The two boys ran out of the shed while the girls laughed.

"They are _so_ going down," Michelle said with a smirk. She had a plan, she wasn't going to let her sisters lose the snowball war. Of course, she also had a plan for the two eldest siblings. "Sam, come with me." Sam beamed and hurried to Michelle's side.

"What are we going to do, Sis?" Sam asked while glancing curiously at the devious look on Michelle's face. "What are you planning?"

"Oh you'll see, but first we need to find your little boyfriend."

"He is not! What's a boyfriend?" Michelle laughed and patted Sam's back, she was just messing around with her beloved sister.

"I'm only joking…anyway, let's go!" Michelle and Sam hurried out of the shed, leaving Ciara to draw out her own war plan. "Okay Sam, we need to find Freddie."

"But isn't he on the enemy team? Won't talking to him be betrayal?"

"Not for what I have in mind." The two girls walked a bit until they heard Freddie and Joshua talking. They made their way through a bush and saw that Josh was surveying the location, trying to make sure the girls weren't around. Freddie was behind him.

"Okay Freddie, let's move out," Josh said while waving his hand through the air. "Remember, while we are out there, don't talk at all. We don't want them to hear us."

"Okay, I won't make any noise," Freddie said with a confident nod. Josh moved out first. Freddie stated to move out, but stopped when Sam called out to him.

"Freddie, come over here," Sam said from behind. Freddie turned around and stared at Sam with wide eyes.

"But Joshua said I shouldn't talk to you during the war."

"Just come here, Michelle wants to talk about something." Freddie nodded and walked over to the girls.

Josh continued walking and narrowed his eyes, he needed to look out for the girls. He heard some footsteps and stopped walking. He shifted his eyes over and saw Michelle heading into the house. _"Did she get exhausted? Go Freddie."_ His eyes widened only when he saw David and Sarah exiting the building. _"She brought reinforcements? No!"_

"Josh!" Ciara called out. Joshua looked over toward the left and held his position. She was nearby, possibly within eyeshot. "Josh, I think I sprained my ankle."

"Hold on, I'll come check! Where are you?"

"It's okay, I'm getting up. Walking hurts, though."

"Don't try to walk on it." Josh walked toward Ciara's voice. As he walked, he saw Ciara standing, she had her right ankle raised up a little and was smiling softly at him. "What did you do to it, Ciara? Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I think I'll be all right…"

"I'll help you to the house." Josh walked toward Ciara and knelt down to check her foot. He placed his hands on her ankle and slowly moved her foot to see if it was okay. He stood up and spotted a devious grin on her face. He paled and realized that he'd just been tricked. "You didn't really sprain your ankle?"

"Oh no, I tricked you all the way. Benson men, can't resist helping the damsel, right?" Josh frowned and felt Ciara hit him in the chest with a snowball.

"I'm going to get you for that one day."

"You're on." Both scooped up some snow and ran back slightly. They turned around and smirked at each other, raising their hands. Treating it like a baseball, they threw the snowball toward each other. The snow collided with each other. Josh narrowed his eyes and quickly ducked behind a tree. Ciara laughed and slowly walked through the yard, she knew Josh was probably watching her from the trees. The second she spotted him, she was going to whack him with a snowball. Josh was actually being distracted by Freddie, his brother wanted him to go to a specific place in the yard.

Ciara moved toward the sidewalk and saw her ex boyfriend, George walking toward her. "Ciara, I was just coming to see you," George said with a slight smile.

"Why? I don't have any care to see you." Ciara crossed her arms and George stepped close to her.

"I want you back, Ciara. Over the last few months, I've done some thinking…"

"No, we're not together anymore. I'm not going back to you." Ciara turned and started to walk away, but George took her arm in his hand, stopping her. "Hey, let go."

"Why won't you give me a chance?" He turned her around and placed his hands on her arms. "Babe, I want you."

"I don't. You're a jerk, you're a lecher, you're an all around _creep!_"

"Aw, you don't mean that." Ciara narrowed her eyes and let a small growl escape her throat.

"I do mean it, I don't want to date you again."

"I'm a changed man."

"Yeah right, tell that to your other girlfriends. I'm not going to be one of your little possessions that you can just parade around." George stared at her for a moment and smirked slightly. He pulled her toward him and kissed her lips with force. She moaned with anger and distaste. She pressed her hands to George's chest and started pushing, trying to get him off of her. Suddenly, a snowball hit George in the back. He turned his head around and spotted Sam glaring angrily at him.

"Leave my sister alone!" Sam shouted out. She scooped up another snowball and threw it toward George.

"Hey brat, mind your own business," George said while rolling his eyes. He turned his head back to Ciara and saw her chest heaving with anger. Her eyes were angry and spiteful.

"Let me go, and I won't make sure you lose your balls," Ciara said in a hushed voice. She didn't want Sam to hear her use such language. "I-"

"Hey asshole, she said she didn't want anything to do with you," A voice stated. Ciara's eyes widened with surprise and she looked over to see Josh. He was standing behind George, his chest heaving with anger. George turned his head and rolled his eyes with annoyance.

"And what do you have to do with any of this?" George asked while still holding Ciara in place. She wasn't exactly making any effort to move at the time, she was just surprised that Josh would bother stepping in. Though, she also wasn't surprised at the same time.

"Let her go." Feeling brave, George simply closed his eyes and smirked.

"No." Josh clenched his fists up and swiftly punched George in the face. Ciara shouted out and pushed herself free from the man's hold. He scoffed and rubbed his face. "What the hell…"

"Asshole, don't you know that _no_ means_ no_!" Ciara shouted. She despised this man more than anything by now, he was truly a bastard.

"Well you don't know what you're missing." Ciara spat out on the ground and wiped her mouth. She narrowed her eyes and growled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Yes, George. I know what I'm missing, and I'm _glad_ that I am."

"Well…" He sighed and lifted his hands up, not really wanting to start anything. "Now, I don't want any fights…"

"Then I suggest you leave," Josh said while prepping himself to hit George with another blow. The man let out a sigh and started walking away, giving up.

"Whatever…" Ciara looked over to Josh and met his gaze. They stood in silence for a brief moment before her quivering eyes released water and she crashed into Josh.

"Are you all right?" Josh wrapped his arms around Ciara and felt her nod her head. She was also sobbing ever so slightly.

"That jerk…"

"Hey, don't worry about him. He's an ass, he's nothing. You can do better than him, anyway."

"How did I ever even _think_ to date a jerk like him?"

"I don't know, but something tells me he won't bother you again." Ciara nodded and closed her eyes, she oddly felt very comfortable where she was right there.

"Thank you for being here for me and standing up for me." Josh smiled and rubbed her back, sending her whatever warmth and comfort he could.

"No problem, Ciara." Josh let go of Ciara and smiled as she wiped her eyes. She smiled at him and bent down to scoop up some snow. He thought Pretty Puckett was an understatement for her. He raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. "You still want to do the snowball fight?"

"I don't want to hit you, I want to hit the asshole." Josh laughed and scooped up some snow, he was with her on that. Suddenly, a snowball hit them from behind, they looked over and their eyes widened in shock as snowballs came at them from all over.

"They're turning against us!"

"Run!" Ciara and Josh ran off, trying to escape the hail of snowballs. Ciara laughed and Josh smiled slightly, he thought that she had a very pretty sounding laugh. Ciara looked forward and spotted snowballs coming from that direction as well. "Oh no, they must have got my parents on this!"

"What are they trying to do?" Josh and Ciara lifted their hands up, trying to block themselves from the snow. They backed up and eventually bumped into each other. They jumped slightly and turned around, but slipped as the spun into the snow. Ciara shouted as she fell back and grabbed Josh's wrist, pulling him down with her. As they crashed into the snow on the ground, the hail of snowballs stopped going after them.

"Ugh, Josh…get up…" Josh opened his eyes and stared down into Ciara's eyes. Her breath slowed and Josh's face softened.

"You…you have some snow in your hair." Ciara laughed and pressed some snow onto his hair.

"Now you have snow in _your_ hair." Josh chuckled and shook his head, shaking the snow out of his hair. He then shifted his gaze back to Ciara's eyes. He thought she was beautiful, her personality was golden, and her smile was always so bright. "Josh…please get up so I don't have to keep staring at you." She couldn't help but to stare, she thought he was attractive and very handsome.

"So you can't help to stare?" Josh smirked and Ciara let out a slight chuckle.

"Well, I mean…" Josh smiled softly and closed his eyes.

"Neither can I, to be honest." Ciara raised her eyebrow as Josh slowly opened his eyes. "So, what are you doing tomorrow?" He had wanted to ask her out for some time, but had been worried about when the right time would be. After the Halloween bet, Sam and Freddie had actually had the same amount of candy. Ciara slowly drew her breath out, she couldn't help but to wonder if he was actually asking her out.

"So, are you asking me on a date?"

"Tomorrow at six?" Ciara smiled and cheered inwardly, she'd been waiting for him to ask her out. She really wanted him to, but he never seemed to do it.

"Yeah, that works out just fine. It took you long enough, though." Josh laughed slightly and felt himself hit with a snowball. He stood up and helped Ciara to his feet, then looked over to see who hit him with a snowball. Michelle was standing with a wide grin on her face.

"Finally!" Michelle exclaimed. "You two have been eyeing each other ever since you actually met, I mean come on!" Josh and Ciara blushed and looked over to see Freddie and Sam walking toward them. Sam took Ciara's hand and looked at her sister with concern.

"Are you okay, Ciara?" Sam asked in a quiet voice. "Is the bad man gone now?" Ciara smiled and hugged Sam close.

"Yes, and don't worry, I'm fine now."

"Okay, I'm glad! Can we go inside now?" Ciara nodded and looked toward the others.

"So, who wants hot chocolate? Josh and I are serving!" Josh rubbed the back of his head and laughed slightly, he would have to agree, he and Ciara probably lost the snowball war. Michelle, Sam and Freddie all shouted their excitement and ran toward the house, each eager to have some hot chocolate. Josh and Ciara took each other's hand and walked toward the house. Michelle may have tried to put them together, but it would always remain questionable as to what got them to finally get together. Either way, neither cared what got them together, they only cared that they were finally going out.

* * *

Snowball wars, always bringing people close togther...extremely close together ^_^. Hope you liked this chapter. Were coming very close to the change.


	8. The Bully

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

* * *

Chapter 8 (The Bully)

Two years later, Freddie and Sam were in the second grade. At seven years old, Michelle was thirteen and the elder siblings were now eighteen. Both Ciara and Josh were heading to the same college, and they were still dating. It was an exciting time for everyone, especially when they had graduated from high school. The sad thing was they were going to a college hours away, it was a very prestigious one.

Sam wasn't as shy as she was a couple years back, but she did still have some trouble with people. The two kids had the same class once again. In first grade, they had Mrs. Cleveland, she was an awesome first grade teacher. She taught them how to start doing simple math and read to the class a lot. Now they had Mrs. Vandeveer, she seemed like a very nice lady. She was in her early to mid fifties and had curly red hair. As the kids entered the classroom, they took their seats and set their backpacks on the floor.

"I miss my big brother already," Freddie said while leaning back in his chair. Sam nodded in response, she missed Ciara too. At the same time, they were both thrilled for their siblings.

"I hope Michelle has a good teacher. One day, I'm going to be just like her." Freddie laughed and tried to imagine Sam like Michelle. Michelle was rough. She didn't read, she didn't like to do homework unless someone told her to, she enjoyed eating food quite a bit, and her favorite meat was ham. Sam smiled and looked to Freddie. "One day, Freddie! You'll see."

"Yeah, I'm trying to think if it'll be a good thing or not. Don't worry though, I'll still be your friend." Freddie gave Sam a hug and moved back to his proper seating position. Just then, Sam felt a crumpled piece of paper hit her head. She rubbed her head and looked over to see a chubby kid smirking at the two. Freddie stood up and immediately defended Sam. "Hey, that's not very nice!"

"Ooh, I'm so scared," The kid said while snorting and sitting in his seat. "Hey, I'm new here, so cut me some slack. You can do that, right?"

"Yeah, but that was still mean."

"I don't care. By the way, I'm Gibby, who are you?" Gibby leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"I'm Freddie and this is Sam. You shouldn't go around picking on people, you might get picked on in the future." Gibby raised his eyebrows and laughed, hitting his desk with his hand.

"Like what, is little blond going to start beating me up in the future?" Sam looked away and frowned, she didn't like Gibby. He was mean to her. The teacher was sitting in her desk, she had seen the paper ball flying through the air.

"Gibby Andrews, I believe that is your name," Mrs. Vandeveer said while standing up and crossing her arms. "Class hasn't even _started_ yet." The teacher sighed and smiled politely. "Now, we don't pick on others in class. This is your warning. If you continue to throw things at people, then I'm going to have to ask you to eat lunch in the classroom today." Gibby rolled his eyes and leaned back.

"Whatever you say…" Mrs. Vandeveer walked toward the front of the class and smiled as the students all quieted down.

"Good morning students, I'm Mrs. Vandeveer. You can call me Mrs. V if you can't understand my name that well. In class, we'll discover the joys of reading and writing, as well as understanding how to do simple math. Can anyone tell me what five plus six is?" Sam shyly raised her hand up and lowered it quickly when Gibby laughed. Mrs. Vandeveer looked at Gibby and he quickly silenced. She then smiled and looked to Sam. "Okay sweetie, give it a try."

"I think it's eleven," Sam said with a quick nod.

"Very good, you got it right!" Sam beamed as the teacher continued her introduction to the class. "Now that was just a small example of what we'll be doing in class this year. Let me say from the start, I'm happy to have each and every one of you in my class, I'm positive that we'll get along well and have a fun year. Let me tell you a little about myself. I live at home with my husband and I have two children and five grandchildren. I have a little dog that always enjoys running." After she shared a few more facts about herself and the class, she asked if anyone else wanted to share some information about themselves. Freddie knew Sam would want to, so he grinned and raised her arm into the air, causing her to let out a slight yelp.

"Sam would like to share!" Freddie said with a quick and excited voice. Sam's face went red as she slowly stood up.

"Okay, tell us your name and a little about yourself." Sam nodded and cleared her throat.

"I bet she's got a boring house and a boring family!" Gibby said with a snort. Sam immediately defended herself and turned to him.

"That's not true!" Sam exclaimed. Mrs. Vandeveer sighed and looked to Gibby.

"Gibby, will you please wait outside the door. I'll be out to talk to you in a minute." Gibby grumbled and exited the room. He leaned against the outer wall and crossed his arms. The teacher looked to Sam and smiled. "Please, continue."

"Thank you. My name is Sam Puckett, I have two older sisters." She held up two fingers and smiled proudly. "One of them is Ciara, she went to college at Harvard University. She has a boyfriend who she met a couple years ago, he's at Harvard also!"

"Ooh, did you know that Harvard is one of the _best_ colleges you can get into?" Sam nodded and smiled brightly.

"Ciara and Josh are very smart!" Freddie smiled and crossed his arms over. He was proud of Sam, as a couple of years ago she wouldn't be able to stand up in front of a class and not be shy about it. "Also my second oldest sister is Michelle Puckett, she's in the eighth grade. One day, I want to be just like her, because she's so cool." Sam tapped her chin and wondered what else she could say. "My parents are the best parents ever and my favorite color is red." Sam sat down and the teacher gave a small smile.

"Okay, thank you for sharing that." Mrs. Vandeveer rubbed her chin and pointed to Freddie. "Would you please share a little about yourself to the class while I go check on Gibby?" Freddie nodded and stood up as the teacher left the room.

Hours passed and recess came around. It was after lunch, which was when Gibby chose to take Sam's milk carton away from her. During recess, he was on the playground and kicking sand in everyone's faces, mostly Sam, though. Sam and Freddie left the playground and went toward the road where the school ends and the neighborhood began.

"I don't like Gibby, why is he so mean?" Sam asked as she sat down.

"I don't know…" Freddie sat next to her and gave her a hug. He didn't like Gibby all that much either. "He's just being mean, don't let him get to you." Sam nodded and looked to the right, she saw Michelle walking down the street. It was odd, Michelle was supposed to be in school. Freddie glanced over and blinked as Sam ran over to meet her older sister.

"Michelle, why are you out of school?" Michelle shrugged and smiled as she hugged Sam.

"Well, let's just say it got boring over there, nothing to do." She cut class, that's why she was out early. She did wonder why Sam and Freddie were so far away from the school building, though. "Why aren't you at the playground?" Sam frowned and glanced toward the ground, she didn't want to go to the playground.

"There's this mean bully over there. We can't go over there without him picking on us!" Michelle raised her eyebrow and glanced toward the playground area, she was shocked to think someone had the guts to start picking on her younger sister.

"You leave the school and people think they can run around and do whatever they want…" Michelle shook her head and smiled as she rubbed Sam's hair. "Come on, let's have a little talk with the bully." Sam and Freddie nodded as Michelle began walking to the playground. They followed after her and wondered what she was going to do. When they arrived at the area, they found Gibby glaring at them.

"Hey, I thought I told you to stay away from the playground, this is my place," Gibby said while crossing his arms. Michelle looked to Sam as if to ask if this was the bully. Sam nodded and a smirk formed on the older girl's face. She stepped toward Gibby and cracked her knuckles. Gibby knew something wasn't right with this, so he took a step back.

"So, you've been picking on my little sister, have you?" Gibby chuckled nervously and started to run, but Michelle grabbed the back of his shirt and closed her eyes. She frowned and sighed. "Don't pick on my little sister, bad things might happen."

"What are you going to do?" Gibby was starting to sweat, the girl scared him.

"Well…here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to introduce to you, something I like to call…a wedgie." Gibby swallowed and felt her grab the back of her underwear. She pulled it out, his face began to turn red.

"Ah! This hurts!" Gibby screamed and started to run, but Michelle had a firm grip on him. Sam and Freddie watched with wide eyes. Sam actually admired her sister's strength, Freddie wasn't sure _what_ to make of the scene playing out. He actually enjoyed seeing Gibby get picked on, but man that had to hurt. Michelle released and Gibby fell to the ground.

"Now you listen here, don't pick on my little sister. If I hear that you've been messing with her, I'll show you the atomic version of that wedgie, or perhaps even the Texas one." Gibby gulped and Michelle crossed her arms over. "You got that?" He gave a fearful nod and Michelle smiled at him. "Good…now _SCRAM!"_ He quickly shot up and tears came to his eyes as he ran off. Michelle turned to Sam and patted her shoulder. "Let me know if he keeps picking on you."

"Thanks sis, you're the best!" Sam hugged Michelle and Freddie chuckled slightly. Sam probably would never be like Michelle, not unless Michelle died and Sam began to emulate her. That would never happen though, so no one really had anything to worry about.

* * *

Well. You all know what the next chapter is. Well maybe some of you don't, but you're going to find out. Hope you liked this chapter.


	9. Rainstorm

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

* * *

Chapter 9 (Rainstorm)

A month later, Gibby was still picking on Sam and Freddie, but Michelle would come around every now and then, and Gibby would act friendly with the two. On this rainy and very cold day, David was rushing to get ready to take Michelle to a doctor appointment. They were probably going to be late if they didn't hurry. They had eaten supper already, so there wasn't a problem there. Michelle had just finished playing with Freddie and Sam, so she was definitely ready for the appointment.

She didn't really want to go, but she had to. She needed to get her flu shot, as she was easily susceptible to getting the disease. Of course, she figured it would have been much better if it wasn't such a dreary day. She hated days like this, bad stuff always happened. "Come on Michelle, time to go!" David called out. Michelle quickly leapt off of her bed and ran toward where her father was. She frowned and glanced outside, crossing her arms in the process.

"Do we have to go on such a rainy day?" She asked. David nodded and Michelle gave a quick sigh. Sarah was at work, so Emily was at the house, watching over Freddie and Sam. Michelle turned to Emily and smiled, she waved and called out to her. "Bye Mrs. Benson, we'll see you later!" Emily smiled back and nodded her head. She wished Michelle luck at the doctor's office. Their doctor wasn't Sarah, they had a different doctor for that. David stepped out of the door and opened his umbrella, Michelle quickly ran underneath him. It wasn't that long of a walk to the car, but it was raining so badly that Michelle really didn't want to get wet.

"All right, let me get this car open…" David unlocked the doors and entered the vehicle. Michelle entered the back of the car and swiftly closed the door, she was very happy to be out of the rain. David started the engine and backed out of the driveway. He glanced at the radio clock and sighed with relief, they didn't have to worry about being late. He put the gear in drive and began driving. "Man, I don't remember the last time we had rain this heavy. I can say, it's definitely good to have some rain.' Michelle looked outside and frowned, she hated rain.

"I don't like the rain…it scares me." David smiled and looked into the rearview mirror.

"Well don't worry about it at all, honey. Dad's been driving for years, I've been in worse than this." Michelle chuckled lightly and nodded her head. "Besides, the roads are worse _after_ the rain."

"What do you mean?"

"After the rain, the water on the road brings up oil from the streets. The oil makes the roads slicker than usual." Michelle swallowed and stared out the window. The rain wasn't _too_ bad, but she still hated it. She didn't need to hear about the aftermath of rain.

"Well I still don't like the rain…it gives me a headache." She turned her eyes toward the windshield and spotted a car that was sitting in a ditch, there was a man standing by the car. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was John. "Dad, that's Mr. Benson!" David's eyes widened slightly, he wondered what happened. He parked next to the vehicle and exited the car. Michelle decided to stay inside because she didn't want to get wet.

"John, what happened?" David walked over to John and looked at the car in the ditch, he frowned and looked toward his friend. John crossed his arms and sighed.

"I ran out of gas, so I tried to get off the road," John said as he looked to his car. The car had rolled into the ditch, but it was salvageable. "The thing rolled into that, but I can get it out of there…I just need some gas."

"Well, I'll help push it out of the ditch, if you want." John nodded in response and moved into his car. He put the car in neutral and then walked toward the front with David. They placed their hands on the hood and started to push the vehicle from the ditch. It wasn't hard to do. Once out of the ditch, David wiped his brow as John put his vehicle in park. "Hey John, I'll drive you to the gas station if you want." It was a friendly gesture, and David could drive toward the gas station and back without worrying about being late. "It's not too far from here, plus it won't be detrimental to getting toward the doctor."

"Thanks, you're a good man. Now let's get out of this rain." David gave a quick nod and hurried back to the driver's seat. John entered the passenger's seat and looked back at Michelle. "Hi Michelle, are you doing okay?"

"Yeah, but I'm hating this rain," Michelle said while looking toward John's car. John looked out the windshield as David began driving.

"This rain should let up soon." Michelle shrugged and crossed her arms, she just wanted to go back home. Perhaps when they got there, she should tell the doctor that she wasn't feeling well.

"Well if it doesn't, I think I'm going to get sick." David raised his eyebrow and frowned, he felt bad that Michelle wasn't feeling so well. He figured she'd feel better later. He couldn't very well cancel the appointment this late. Michelle rested her elbow on the arm rest and put her hand to her cheek. She watched the windshield wipers hitting the rain away at the fastest speed. After some point of time, the rain became so heavy and fast that even the windshield wipers weren't helping to clear it off. It looked like a constant waterfall, nothing could be seen from inside the vehicle. Michelle swallowed hard and sat up straight. "Um, dad…"

"I know sweetie, hold on," David said while narrowing his eyes. He was starting to hate this weather as well, he could see nothing but water going down. "I'm going to try to pull over here in a second…" He knew he couldn't exactly pull over, since they were on a bridge. Michelle's eyes were widening with fear, she wanted to go home really badly. John frowned and looked out the passenger side window. From what he could see, they were on a very high bridge with no water underneath and nowhere to pull over.

"Michelle, I'd close your eyes for a moment," John said in a quiet voice. "Take some deep breaths…it'll all be over soon and your dad's going to be able to pull over." David nodded and Michelle slowly closed her eyes. She inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled, but it wasn't doing much for her panicking nerves. She heard the roar of thunder, but also another noise that sounded a lot like thunder. She opened her eyes and spotted headlights in the distance, but that was all anyone could see. Not only that, they were sporadic, as if they were going all over the road. The driver of that vehicle was honking their horn, trying to warn any oncoming vehicles.

"Damn it, this is bad…" Michelle whimpered slightly and held on to her seatbelt. She didn't care about the doctor anymore, she wanted the whole world to stop. Dave looked back slightly and spoke quickly. "Relax honey, we're almost off this bridge, then we can pull over until the rain subsides." John narrowed his eyes and tried to see through the pouring water on the windshield. From what he could see, the vehicle in the distance was a large eighteen wheeler.

"Oh crap…David, look out! That car is a large truck, eighteen wheeler I think…" David's jaw fell and he looked ahead. Michelle swallowed and pressed her back against the seat. She debated whether she should jump out of the car or not. So many thoughts were going through her head, as well as both David and John. David began to try and swerve so he could get away from the out of control trucker and not drive off of the bridge, but it was nearly an impossible task. Right when he turned his wheel, he suddenly lost control of the car.

"No!" The car began spinning and its occupants screamed out helplessly. Michelle had tears going down her eyes as she realized the inevitable. Her scream echoed through the night as the car lit up from the headlights. Upon impact, the car began flipping. John died instantly from hitting the truck, since it hit on his side, David had a chunk of glass go through his side and was struck unconscious. Michelle was crying as the car flipped over several times, she saw her life beginning to flash before her eyes. The car landed on its side and Michelle started hitting the door, but it was her door that was against the ground.

"Please, I want to go home," Michelle said, in a weak voice. "I want to go see Sam…" Her squirming didn't help, as the car began to flip over once more. It was only hitting air, meaning it was going over the cliff. Upon going over once more, Michelle's scream echoed through the night one last time.

In the far distance, Sam and Freddie were sitting in front of Emily and playing a game. Thunder roared loudly and lightning flashed, the three people stopped what they were doing and looked up. Each of them felt a sense of dread, but the odd feeling could not be explained.

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Possibly one of the saddest chapters in this story, but not the most emotional one, mind you. I've finished writing the story, so it's all being posted up now. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, stick around for the next ^_^


	10. Change

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

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Chapter 10 (Change)

A couple weeks later, things were still hard for everyone. After the deaths of Michelle and the two fathers, it seemed like things were starting to change around quite a bit. Mrs. Puckett was now doing poorly at work and all she could do was sit around the house and cry. She knew she had a daughter to take care of, so she still tried her best to do just that, but sometimes it was just too hard.

The loss of John seemed to hit Emily pretty hard as well, she seemed to almost go crazy. She wasn't calm anymore, she was almost always looking over her shoulder. She still loved Sam as though she was her own flesh and blood, there was nothing that could change that. She was concerned for Sarah, but again, she could do nothing for her. Her fear was not being able to do anything for even Freddie, so she became protective of him, too protective it seemed. She started inventing names for certain lotions and if anyone said anything to her, they needed to be careful or they might just set her off.

Freddie didn't change so much, but he did know he had to start caring more and helping to take care of everyone. With his father gone and Joshua in college far away, it was up to Freddie to make sure his mom was okay and didn't actually go insane. As for Sam, it was possible the news hit her heaviest. She started to emulate her sister, hoping that it would fill in the missing spot that was now in her life. Ciara was away, her mom was clearly sick, so she had to take care of herself.

At school was when Freddie first noticed her change. He couldn't say he was thrilled, but she was still his friend, and he still cared deeply for her. They were at the cafeteria and Sam was munching on, to no surprise of Freddie, ham. Ham, the favorite of Michelle, now it seemed that it was Sam's favorite food. Freddie could only smile as he watched Sam push the food into her mouth and swallow. He wasn't sure why, but watching her eat was so calming to him. "Are you enjoying the ham?" Freddie asked with a slight chuckle. Sam stopped eating and glanced at Freddie.

"Yes, yes I am," she replied. She then began eating once more.

"Fantastic…" He hoped that was the only thing that would change with her. He normally wouldn't care, but he didn't want her to change too much. He liked her, so really what would happen if she was completely different? Years of teasing from Joshua finally got to him, and he began developing what his brother had termed a 'crush' on her. He took his milk carton and began sipping from the straw as he watched his friend eat. "So, you made your lunch and you packed only ham?"

"No, I've got other things in my lunchbox!" Sam placed a few slices of ham in her box when she left, they were only added to her sandwich that she made and a brownie. In truth, it was a lot less than she normally had, but her mom wasn't making lunch boxes for her lately. She opened her lunchbox and took her sandwich out, it was a simple peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Freddie's eyebrows rose and he felt his heart sink, it was horrible that Sam's mom seemed to be lacking in the once strong motherly department that she had.

"If you want some of my food, then I'll let you have it…" Freddie's mom was now starting to give him too much food. She didn't want him to starve. She had been asking Joshua several times if he'd move closer to home, but he couldn't. Her fear was losing her two children after she had lost her husband. "I always have extra." Sam looked at Freddie and smiled, thankful for the gesture, but she didn't really want to take his food from him.

"That's okay Freddie, thanks anyway."

"Okay…you know, you never have to ask if you want something, okay?" Sam nodded and gave Freddie a hug, she loved having him around. He was her first friend, her best friend, and she actually was beginning to like him. Ciara always said she might get a funny feeling about someone, and that feeling was typically a crush. Of course, Sam still thought her older sister was the greatest and the smartest person alive. She knew if she'd ever lost Ciara, then things would probably be worse than they'd ever been for her. It would be like losing Michelle, but the effect would be increased tenfold.

"Hey Freddie, will we always be friends?"

"Of course, nothing will change that." He wouldn't let anything change his view on her, because to him, she was his very first friend. He shifted his eyes over and spotted Gibby walking in their direction, he frowned and looked to Sam. "Hey Sam…Gibby alert…"

"What?" Sam looked over and frowned when she saw the school bully heading her way. Of course, she knew he probably realized Michelle was gone and therefore he had nothing to worry about, but that was all going to change soon. She was sick and tired of his bullying ways. "Hello Gibby."

"Hey Puckett, I heard your sister died," Gibby said with a smirk. "It's about time."The color started to drain from Sam's face and Freddie's eyebrows rose with annoyance. Sam hated for anyone to talk about her sister like that, it was just not right.

"Sam, ignore him," Freddie said as he stood up and placed his hand onto Sam's shoulder. "We should go to class anyway, we'll be late." Sam brushed his hand off and stood up, glaring angrily into Gibby's eyes.

"You'll _regret_ talking about my sister like that," Sam said with a very dangerous tone in her voice. Freddie was stunned, he never knew Sam to use that tone. Rather, the tone belonged to Michelle whenever the girl spoke to Gibby in defense of Sam. Gibby laughed and crossed his arms.

"What are you going to do?"

"You'll see…"

"Ooh, I'm _so_ scared." Sam growled and took a step forward. Freddie knew he needed to get her away from Gibby, but he didn't know how that was going to happen. What he did know was something was going to happen if he didn't intervene, but he wouldn't get any time to.

"Oh you better be scared!" Sam smacked Gibby and pushed him to the ground. He shouted out and Freddie's eyes widened. Sam then placed her foot on Gibby's back and grabbed his underwear. "You like wedgies so much? Then here, have one!" Sam pulled Gibby's underwear out, causing him to cry out in pain. Freddie called out to Sam and quickly pulled her off of Gibby. "What? He had it coming!" Sam looked into Freddie's eyes and frowned, he did look upset with her. He was disappointed, she'd acted so differently than she usually did. Gibby quickly stood up and stared at Sam with wide eyes.

"You're mean!" Sam looked at Gibby and narrowed her eyes, he began to cry and run off. "I'm telling on you!" Freddie slowly shook his head as Sam turned to him.

"What?"

"Nothing Sam, let's just go to class…"

"Okay." Freddie and Sam then walked to class, both were silent. Freddie couldn't understand what just happened. Sam _never_ had been violent before. She was changing, and perhaps too much, but he wasn't going to let it change the way he thought about her. Although, he could say one thing, he was going to miss the old Sam.

When they made it to class, they saw Mrs. Vandeveer shaking her head. Gibby was standing next to her. That could only mean one thing, he'd told her what Sam did to him. She was surprised that Sam would do such a cruel thing to anyone, even if Gibby may have been mean. No one, not even Gibby, deserved to be bullied. When that happened, things rarely ever became better. Sam stared back at the teacher, knowing full well she was going to get in trouble for the first time, and knowing full well that it would _not_ be the last time.

"I'm stunned," Mrs. Vandeveer said in a quiet voice. "Sam, is it true what Gibby has told me?" Sam crossed her arms and turned her head to the side.

"Maybe…" That was enough for the teacher to know. As much as she hated to have to do it to Sam, she needed to send the girl to the office. Everyone in the class was shocked so much that they lost the ability to talk and process thoughts. It was far too reversed for them, it should be Sam standing next to the teacher with tears in her eyes, Freddie comforting her, and Gibby standing in the doorway staring down the teacher.

"Sam…" The teacher took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "You have to go to the principal's office now." Mrs. Vandeveer took a slip of paper from her desk drawer and began to write Sam's offense on it. She didn't know the full story, but she knew Sam would be honest in telling the principal what had happened. They would probably have to contact her mother, and the woman was sure to come. The teacher then handed Sam the slip of paper and watched sadly as she left the room. Freddie watched Sam walk away and turned to Mrs. Vandeveer.

"May I go with her?" Freddie asked. He wanted to be there for his friend, she needed him. The teacher thought for a moment and smiled, she didn't see any reason that Freddie couldn't go after her. She nodded her head and Freddie quickly exited the room and hurried after Sam. He stepped next to Sam when he found her and walked with her. She looked at him with surprise, she didn't know why he was even there. After what she did, she thought he wouldn't want to be her friend anymore.

"Freddie, why are you here?"

"You're my friend, so I wanted to be here for you." Sam blinked and looked forward, she was stunned. Freddie knew why she'd probably be so shocked, but she had no reason to be. "I don't care _what _you do, Sam…I'll always be your friend." Sam smiled softly and chuckled. She had to admire that about Freddie, he was just so set in taking care of her that he was just too good to dislike her if she did something stupid. Of course, she wouldn't tell him that she felt great when she picked on Gibby. She didn't really like doing it, but it was what Michelle would have done, and if she continued keeping Gibby on his toes, then he wouldn't ever pick on them again.

"You're such a dork, Freddie…"

"I will take that as a compliment." Sam giggled and hugged Freddie. Then they walked to the principal's office in silence. She couldn't be happier that Freddie was there, because she would have been afraid to go to the office by herself. "What will you do when they call your mom?"

"I don't know…maybe they'll call Ciara instead." Freddie raised his eyebrow and frowned, it might be bad for Sam if they did that. Although, Ciara would love Sam no matter what, she would also be extremely disappointed in her. Sam's mom might not even bother with it, considering how much of a slump that Mrs. Puckett was in. "I don't know what they'll do, so I guess we'll just have to see…" Freddie gave a brief nod as they neared the doors to the office. It was only a first offense for Sam, so they probably would just let her off with a warning.

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Hope you enjoyed the chapter. I believe it is the next that picks up where the story left off. I couldn't figure out where I was going with it origionally, so I took it to a new direction which I believe you will enjoy.


	11. A Little Piece of Heaven

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font HERE it is, the continuing part. I do believe you're going to enjoy this chapter, I think it's one of the most beautiful chapters I've written in a long time.

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Chapter 11 (Sacred Piece of Heaven)

Freddie made his way slowly down the hallways, he was sad because the principal ordered Sam home for the day. Ciara was _not_ happy with Sam when she was called to pick her up. She scolded her and told her the behavior couldn't keep up, because she was going back to college in a few weeks and that it was up to Sam now to watch after their mother. Freddie moped around and finally sat down against a wall, next to a water fountain. The death of Michelle and their dads was just too much.

He lowered his head to his knees and began to cry truly for the first time, ever since he'd lost his father, he'd been trying to amount to being who that man was. It really was Josh that took the role of filling his dad's shoes, even though he was hardly ever around now. He didn't know why his dad was gone, he didn't know what he was going to do. The dynamic between everybody was ruined. There was never going to be another snowball fight, there would never be anymore Halloween bets made, there would be nothing anymore.

Freddie sobbed and sobbed, he wasn't sure how long he'd been sitting there, and he really didn't care. Maybe the teacher would come looking for him, maybe the teacher would continue class without, who knew. They were supposed to be going to the library, Mrs. Schorn had a completely new assortment of books for the kids to read. What did he care? There was no point to anything anymore. He wouldn't even be able to stand up to the school bully, his dad nor his brother was really around to give advice and encouragement.

Freddie slowly curled up on the floor and closed his eyes, he didn't want to admit it, but he was scared. His whole world had crashed. He'd lost more than just a father. It felt like he'd lost his mother, his brother, and maybe even his best friend. It hurt, it hurt worse than anything he'd ever felt. He'd once been kicked in the shin by the bully, it was painful enough, but it was nothing compared to this pain. In the back of his mind, he recognized the sound of running footsteps. Two kids were nearby, playing and running around. They were laughing. It reminded him of the past, before everything changed, when he and Sam were happy.

"There he is!" A female voice said quickly. "I found him, he's over here!" Freddie kept his eyes closed, uncertain if anyone was talking to him or not. He then felt someone tapping him gently with his or her shoe.

"Hey, are you sleeping?" The boy with the girl asked. Freddie moaned and slowly opened his eyes. He saw a tanned boy with curly brown hair bent over him, holding his hand out and grinning. The girl standing next to him was pale and had shoulder length brown hair flowing down to her shoulders. "Are you okay?"

"Leave me alone," Freddie huffed. The boy sighed and stood up straight, placing his hands on his hips. He felt bad for Freddie. He breathed out and looked over to the girl.

"Valerie, go back to class. You know they're all at the library by now, right. I'm sure you don't want to miss reading any books." Valerie nodded and grinned as she waved and ran off, she was a bit of a bookworm. Her reading ability was higher than most of the class. Freddie sat up and the boy pointed his thumb to himself, grinning happily. "I'm Jonah!" Freddie wiped his nose and frowned, he recognized the kid.

"Aren't you in the third grade?"

"Yeah! Mrs. Smith and Mrs. V have the library today, they asked for volunteers to look for you since you never showed up." Jonah reached down and helped Freddie up, he couldn't help but to wonder why Freddie, of all people, would be crying in the hallway. Normally, he was so upbeat. "So what's the problem?"

"I lost my best friend, I think…" Jonah frowned and tilted his head. He'd seen Freddie and Sam together all the time, so how on earth could he have lost his friendship with Sam? Hell, they were together even today.

"Nah, I don't believe that. You two are always close! Val and I see you two together all the time! Lunch, recess, anywhere…" Jonah blinked and snapped his fingers, suddenly getting an idea. He knew they could get in trouble, but it didn't really matter if it meant lifting Freddie's spirits. "I got an idea! Let's go play on the playground!"

"What? But it's not recess yet." The idea seemed so absurd, so ridiculous, but yet, fun as well.

"I _know_, but you need to loosen up!" Jonah took Freddie's wrist and started running down the hallway, laughing. Freddie smiled as they ran out the back doors of the school and towards the playground. "Sometimes it's okay to go against society norms every once in a while, you know?"

"It is?"

"Sometimes." Jonah quickly ran up the small blue steps and towards the monkey bars. "Keep up with me, Freddie! I bet you can't!"

"I can and I _will_!" Freddie laughed and ran after Jonah, he was actually starting to have a little fun, even through all the ambivalence. Jonah started crossing the monkey bars and was almost at the end when Freddie started. He climbed up a ladder and hurried over to the red slide.

"Come on Freddie, you're being too slow!" Freddie climbed the ladder just as Jonah flew down the slide. He then bolted to the slide and went down it, crashing into Jonah who hadn't quite gotten off the ground. Jonah laughed and rolled over as Freddie got up.

"I caught you!"

"Yeah, well…look over there!" Jonah pointed to the side and Freddie looked over, not realizing he'd just been tricked. When he looked back, Jonah was running.

"Hey!"

"You still can't catch me!" Freddie smiled and ran after Jonah. Jonah glanced back and stuck his tongue out, taunting Freddie from afar. He didn't see the rock on the ground and tripped over it, falling and slowing him down long enough for Freddie to catch up with him. "Darn!"

"I caught you again Jonah, you're not so fast!" Jonah slowly stood up and dusted himself off, accepting his second loss with grace. He looked over to the small creek and grinned.

"Hey Freddie, follow me! I want to show you something!" Freddie nodded and ran with Jonah to the start of the creek. "I'm always out at recess with your class, our teachers have their recess at the same time as the second graders. You never see me, want to know why?"

"Yeah!"

"I've only ever showed _one_ person this! Well sort of, they knew about it too." Freddie nodded as Jonah started running alongside the creek. He then ran behind Jonah.

"Where are we going?"

"Someplace secret, nobody knows it!" You would think wherever it is, people would have found it by now. Surely, they had, but if you were a kid playing at recess, it probably wasn't important enough when it compared to playing with friends. "I found it in the first grade."

"What is it already?" Jonah laughed and smiled widely.

"You'll see!" The creek seemed to run around the school through a tiny tree-filled area of the school grounds. Outside of that tree area was a gravel road leading up to a water tower, the creek still continued on. Eventually, they made their way through some large bushes, and on the other side, waiting for them, was a very large and open field where the creek flowed into this large body of water in the center. This field seemed to be framed by bushes and was littered with trees and flowers, it almost seemed like paradise. Freddie's eyes widened in awe and Jonah smiled as the wind blew against his face. He closed his eyes and lifted his head up, breathing in and holding out his arms. "Isn't it grand?"

"Wow, it's beautiful!"

"Nobody comes over here because they're always focused on the playground. To me, this place is _better_ than the playground!" Jonah smiled and walked towards the body of water. He cupped his hands and ran them in the water, then lifted his hands out and let the water seep through the crease in between them. Freddie smiled and walked next to him.

"You come here to think and stuff?"

"Yep, always. Sometimes I like to collect rocks and stuff. I _always_ find the most interesting pebbles in the water. Come see!" Jonah reached in and Freddie watched in wide-eyed wonder as he pulled out a small, jagged pebble in what looked like the shape of a star.

"Wow! It's amazing!"

"Yeah, and the creek always has these beautiful sounds. Just stop and listen!" Jonah closed his eyes and smiled peacefully. Freddie nodded and did the same. Soon came the soft sounds of the water rippling with the wind, the leaves of the trees rustling and the bushes breezing, and the birds sang their beautiful music. "They make the sweetest music," Jonah said softly. He didn't want to speak loudly and disturb the wondrous sound. "Can you hear it too? The music?"

"Yeah," Freddie answered in a whisper. He was amazed that there was a place so beautiful outside of school grounds. Jonah hoped he would always remember this little piece of heaven, he wouldn't ever forget it. Jonah opened his eyes and gazed at his reflection in the water.

"My mom died when I just started first grade." Freddie frowned and looked at Jonah sadly, that was horrible, but Jonah seemed to be doing okay. "I decided to follow the creek one day and it led me here. I looked down in this water and I could have sworn I saw mom looking back at me, watching me, guarding me." Freddie slowly nodded and looked in the water at his reflection. "Now whenever it hurts, or I feel like I'm in pain, I always come here. Nothing bad can ever happen here…"

"Yeah…" Freddie blinked and he could have sworn he saw something strange. In the water, his reflection changed, and he could have sworn his father was right there, smiling at him. He smiled back, remembering how his dad's moustache always curved whenever he smiled. A tear came to his eyes and Jonah looked at him, smiling subtly. He looked to the side and chuckled as a small brown rabbit started hopping around in the field. He gently nudged Freddie and pointed, whispering quietly.

"Freddie, look." Freddie looked over and smiled, he never saw something so cute before. "It's Buster, he forages around sometimes for food for his family, I've seen it."

"How do you know?"

"Because I've seen him around with another rabbit and sometimes baby rabbits, he's got to have a family."

"Is it a broken one?" Jonah shrugged and slowly sat down, Freddie did the same and the boys watched the rabbit hopping around the field.

"Bunnies are a timid creature, that's what my friend told me." Jonah smiled lightly and watched as the rabbit started munching on the grass. "Sometimes I'll come here with a carrot or lettuce, you know, with my friend, and they'll come eat out of my hand. It's cute how they sniff, make sure it's safe, and then decide to eat…taking the food away at a safe distance so no one snatches it."

"Yeah, that's right."

"It's like that's all that's important, that and family. They want to take care of their family. It doesn't matter to them if their family is broken, they know they can't dwell on that one loss, or else they'll lose touch in reality and everything else will fall apart too…they have to keep focusing on the family that's there right now, at this time." Freddie slowly nodded and tilted his head to the right, Jonah had a point, it probably was best to not let the hurt, the pains get the best of you.

"Your friend told you that?"

"Yeah…Really helped out with a lot of things, just kind of lifting up my spirits and all…what I needed." Jonah laughed and lay down against the grass, kicking his feet in the air. "Sort of like a guardian angel, if you want to use that."

"Like your mom sending you someone to look after you?"

"Yeah, like if I go astray or if I'm sad, you know. I can always expect my friend to comfort me if I need it, or slap me around if I act out of turn." Jonah chuckled and rolled onto his side, placing his hands under his cheek. Freddie smiled and lay back against the grass, placing his hands behind his head.

"Your friend, that's Valerie, isn't it?" Jonah's mouth formed an O shape and he quickly grinned, closing his eyes. Freddie learned quickly it seemed, he was very smart. "You know, I only figure because you two seemed really close."

"Yeah…" Jonah moved his eyes to the side and chuckled. When he volunteered to go looking for Freddie, Valerie would not let him go alone, she wanted to join him on the hunt. Probably because she thought, Jonah might also run off. "You know, sometimes they forget about me at recess, the teachers never come looking over here." Jonah sat up and chuckled, looking over to see Buster looking at him cautiously.

"Do you ever get in trouble for it?"

"All the time!" Jonah grinned and pulled a carrot from his pocket. He'd been saving it for recess, but since he was already out here, he figured he might as well give it to the little bunny now. "Here Buster, I got a carrot for you." Freddie watched silently as Jonah bounced the carrot in the air. Buster slowly, carefully, hopped over to Jonah and sniffed the carrot. He allowed Jonah to pet him, as he'd started accepting him as part of the family since he was always there. Jonah looked at Freddie and put a finger to his lips, whispering softly. "Don't talk, you might scare him away."

"Right," Freddie whispered under his breath. The rabbit hopped up onto Jonah's leg and took the carrot. This was the cutest thing Freddie had ever seen in his life. The bunny looked up at Jonah with gratitude and hopped up, having found dinner for his family. "Aww, that was adorable."

"I know, right?" The two heard rustling behind them and quickly stood up, turning around to see Valerie with her hands on her hips. She huffed and stared at Jonah with narrow eyes.

"I thought I might find you here!" Valerie said, scolding Jonah. "The teachers are mad because you haven't come back for class and it's almost _over_! I got in trouble because you didn't come back!"

"Geez Val, it hasn't been _that_ long, has it?" Jonah asked with a sheepish chuckle. "I was just enjoying Lake Den-Den." That was the name he and Valerie bestowed on this small area, it was named for the nickname given to his mother, Denise. He never told anyone that, and he wasn't planning on telling Freddie. Only Valerie ever knew that secret. Valerie smiled and slowly closed her eyes.

"Yeah." Her voice was so soft, so quiet, as if she didn't want to disturb the sanctity of the place. "You know the teachers are going to hold you guys after school, right?"

"It was worth it," Freddie replied with a smile. He had never felt so great before, it was like there was some special secret to this place. "I swear, this place is mysterious, I've never felt so at peace before." Jonah looked at him and grinned.

"You feel it too, huh?" Jonah asked as he placed his elbow on Freddie's shoulder. It truly was worth missing out on class, besides they felt like they'd learned so much anyway. "Guess we need to go in and face the music." Freddie nodded and Valerie held up her hand.

"Hold on one minute!" Valerie enthused with a graceful smile. The boys looked at her and she took their hands in hers. "One last thing before we go in. Close your eyes…" The three closed their eyes and tuned themselves to the peaceful sounds around them. The running water seemed to grow in its glorious noise and the birds matched the rushing waves with perfect harmony as the glorious wind blew the leaves past their faces. "Let's always remember this place. No matter what."

"It's perfect," Freddie said quietly. Jonah nodded and Valerie smiled peacefully.

"Whenever we feel sadness, whenever we feel alone, whenever we need something, we can come here. We can come here, and listen to the beautiful music. We'll be together here, we'll have friends here, we'll never be alone here. We can't be sad here, it's a place full of love and acceptance. No anger can be here, no arguing. This place is sacred."

"I'll respect that," Jonah said with a subtle smile.

"Never, ever, forget Den-Den." The trio silenced and continued listening to the wondrous music once more. This was a promise they could always hold. Freddie knew everything would be okay, he knew his father was watching him from above. He had to be. "Never reveal this secret location unless it's absolutely necessary. It's our own heaven, our secret spot." The trio nodded and pulled their hands away, smiling and looking into each other's eyes.

"So, first one to school wins and the last one there has to give the others their milk for the next week?"

"I'll take that bet!" Freddie said with a grin. Valerie tapped her chin.

"Okay," Valerie said quietly, smirking deviously. She pointed behind the boys and grinned. "Look! It's Buster!" The boys gasped and looked behind them, but frowned when the rabbit wasn't there. They turned around to see Valerie was gone. "Later suckers! I can't wait for the milk!" She laughed and the guys exchanged glances.

"Freddie?"

"Yeah Jonah?"

"I think we were just tricked."

"Let's get her." The boys quickly ran after Valerie, laughing up a storm. Freddie looked over his shoulder and smiled as the little piece of heaven, Den-Den moved away into the distance. For a split second, he was sure he saw his father standing in front of the entrance, waving at him and smiling brightly. Freddie smiled and turned his attention back to Valerie in the distance, taunting the boys. Jonah couldn't know how grateful to him he was. No, he would never forget that place, not on his life.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed the chapter ^_^


	12. Carly Arrives

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

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Chapter 12 (Carly Arrives)

Months passed by and Freddie has become good friends with Jonah, it almost made Sam jealous how he spent so much time with Jonah and not with her. He made an effort to spend as much time with her as possible, but it was difficult since she'd become aggressive. That wasn't saying she was ever aggressive towards him, he was the last person she'd ever think to torture. No, it was mostly just Gibby. She'd succeeded in scaring him into nothing.

But no, his budding friendship with Jonah was hardly the last straw. No, not at all, the last straw came in a much different, much more sinister form to her. It came to her in the form of a new student who had moved to Seattle in late January. Her name, was Carly Shay. Although, she wasn't sure if Carly would be a threat to their friendship or not, only time could tell.

"Freddie Benson," The teacher said from the front desk. Freddie was seated next to Sam and laughing at a joke she made, she was becoming a happier person, but never could forget the loss of her sister and her father. They stopped laughing and looked over to see a girl their age standing next to the teacher, clutching a textbook to her chest. "This is Carly Shay, she's new here. Would you please show her around the school?"

"Yes ma'am!" Freddie said as he quickly stood up. Sam looked at him and frowned, she thought he'd say no, that he was having too much fun with her. He walked up to the girl and extended a hand, but she didn't shake it. She stared at it and slowly shook her head, she was shy, which was a very understandable thing. "I'm Freddie, it's good to meet you."

"Carly," she replied quietly. That was the only thing that would come from her mouth, she was too afraid to say anything. Her father was away on official military business and her brother had offered to watch over her so she didn't have to go live with Spencer. "I miss my friends."

"Well, I'll be your friend, if it makes you feel better." Carly smiled and nodded her head slowly as Freddie gestured for her to follow him. Jonah looked over at Sam and frowned when he saw how intensely she was watching the two.

"She's shy, like I was," Sam whined. She fidgeted on her desk and Jonah gave a small, tired sigh.

"You have nothing to worry about," he replied with a smile. He knew Freddie was always going to be true friends with Sam, there was no denying the untarnished bond between the two.

"So this is the school cafeteria," Freddie said as he and Carly entered the empty cafeteria. Lunch had yet to begin. He then pointed his arm to the left and smiled. "Down that hallway is the door to the nurse's office, and further down are the kindergartners."

"Oh, and do they hand out a lot of crafts?" Carly asked curiously. At her previous school, the kindergartners would always make a lot of arts and crafts, then give them to the older students.

"Eh, sometimes, but it isn't very often. Let me show you the library." Carly nodded and followed him throughout the school. "So tell me a little about yourself."

"Okay. Well I live with my brother, because Daddy's always gone and mommy went away. She left us, we don't know where she is."

"That's horrible!"

"I don't like new places, they scare me. All of my friends are gone, I don't know what to do."

"Well, I've said already that I'd be your friend. Here's a thought! Why don't you sit with us at lunch today?" Carly's eyes widened for a moment and Freddie smiled widely, he had a feeling he could help her overcome her nervous feelings. Maybe even Sam, who always seemed so friendly before, could help out too. "You should meet my friends, they'd love you."

"Okay, if you say so, then I believe you." She didn't think anyone at the new school would be nice to her, but here Freddie was, being very friendly. She smiled slightly and continued on with Freddie as he toured the place. She reminded him a little of Sam before Michelle and the parents died. He missed her. The way she was now, it wasn't her, it just wasn't. "It's a really nice school."

"Yeah, there's a lot of nice people here."

"Thanks for showing me around…" Freddie nodded as the two started heading back to class. An hour passed after and soon lunch had started up. Freddie was sitting at his lunch table with Jonah, they were waiting on Sam to arrive. Carly made it to them first, however. "Hi. You said I could join you at lunch?"

"Yeah, have a seat Carly. How was class for you?" Jonah sighed and leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head. He was only slightly annoyed, since he'd been right in the middle of conversation and now Freddie was starting a conversation with this girl.

"It was a little tough, I didn't understand some things."

"Like what?"

"Well, the teacher had us learning to subtract money, but I was having a little trouble…" Math wasn't her strong suit, she always had trouble in the subject. Freddie nodded and took some of his cash from his pocket and set it on the table.

"Okay let's see if I can help you. How much do I have?" Carly looked down at the money and saw there was one five dollar bill, a single dollar bill, three quarters, two dimes, one nickel and four pennies. She swallowed and looked at Freddie embarrassingly, she had no idea how much money there was.

"I don't know."

"Okay well here." He placed his fingers on the two dollar bills and started with them. "It's good to start with the bills first. It's not hard, it's just like regular math. What is five plus one?"

"Six?"

"Right, so a five dollar bill and a one will give you six dollars." He brushed the bills to the side and Jonah leaned forward, now interested in this conversation. "Next we'll start with the quarters. How much are quarters worth?"

"Twenty-five, right?"

"Yes, now remember, four quarters make a whole dollar. So you want to count by twenty five. Twenty five, fifty, and then seventy-five…So, so far we have six dollars and seventy-five cents."

"Okay, and the dimes are worth ten, right?" Freddie nodded and Carly looked at the two dimes. She decided to try and add ten and ten in her mind. Frowning, she answered, unsure of the answer. "Twenty?"

"Yes."

"It's not twenty five, it won't make a dollar!"

"Ah, but look, a nickel." Carly looked at the nickel and smiled, she knew those were worth five cents. That brought the change up to a full dollar amount.

"Now we have seven dollars."

"Correct, but can you add the pennies? They're worth one cent each." Carly nodded and counted by one each penny she pulled aside. There were four, so the total amount of money was seven dollars and four cents. "What's the total price?"

"Seven dollars and four cents!"

"Good job!" Carly squealed with joy and gave Freddie a quick hug. Jonah's eyebrows lifted as he looked to the doorway. There was Sam, watching them. Freddie glanced over just in time to see the girl turn around and leave. He frowned and looked worriedly at Jonah. He didn't know what was going on, but Jonah had an idea. Sam was jealous.

"Hey Freddie, can we go talk somewhere?" Jonah asked as he slowly stood up. Freddie nodded and looked over at Carly, she let him know she'd be okay till they got back. They walked over to where Valerie was in the corner of the cafeteria, she had a lunchbox and was currently placing her food neatly on the table. She hadn't been turned off by Freddie and Jonah's friendship, as she was very happy for Jonah making new friends. She looked up at the two of them and smiled while they took their seats at her table. "Freddie's got a new friend, Valerie."

"I noticed that," Valerie replied while stabbing her juice box with her straw. She sipped out of it and then placed an orange next to her plate which contained a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. "I also noticed Sam didn't look too happy." Freddie frowned as Jonah looked over at him, he really wanted to warn Freddie not to forget his friendship with Sam.

"I just wanted you to know, Freddie…don't forget Sam, okay? I mean that."

"Ah, I won't forget about her. It's just that she changed so much…Carly reminds me a little bit of Sam before all that bad stuff happened." Jonah and Valerie frowned and exchanged sad expressions. It looked like Freddie might actually start developing a crush on Carly, that's what all this was about. Jonah had taken notice of that look in Freddie's eyes. The fact that she reminded him of Sam really cemented that fear.

"Okay, well as long as you don't think you're going to ignore her…"

Meanwhile, Carly was eating a sandwich at her table when Sam walked up to her. She narrowed her eyes for a minute as Carly swallowed her bite. "Hey I'm Sam." Carly looked up and grinned.

"Hi, I'm Carly."

"Can I have that sandwich?" Carly looked at her with offense, she wasn't sure why someone would ask that after she'd already taken a bite. Not only that, but she was hungry.

"No way, get your own."

"Okay." Sam quickly grabbed the sandwich and pushed Carly out of the chair. Carly yelped as Sam eyed the sandwich hungrily. It was a tuna sandwich. Just as she sat down, Carly pushed her out of her seat and took her sandwich back. Sam cleared her throat and stood up, dusting herself off. She was impressed with the girl now. "Hey, you're all right." Sam then took a seat next to Carly, maybe she could be friends with her.

"You were in that class today, weren't you?"

"Yeah, that's right. You're new here, so maybe we could be friends."

"I don't know, you seem kind of mean."

"Only because I have to be. Besides, when it comes to school bullies like Gibby, it's the only way to be protected."

"Maybe, as long as it doesn't get out of hand, you know." Sam shrugged as the girls continued to talk and form their friendship.

* * *

Well Carly's here. This is actually what changes the friendship between Freddie and Sam. I wasn't sure how I was planning it back when I first wrote this story, as it's been two years since then. I had a whole bunch of different things I had to do with this story now, so it may be a bit different. Sadly, this isn't the first story that ended up going differently because of circumstances. GREATEST SECRET did not end at all how I wanted it to origionally, but being in that hellhole I was in, I had no choice to end it the way I did, which I suppose it still went very well anway, so I'm happy with it. ^_^. Review the chapter and stick around for the next.


	13. Failed Plan

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

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Chapter 13 (Failed Plan)

Six years passed, almost quickly it seemed, and things were not much different. Carly and Sam were friendly with one another, and Freddie had developed a crush on Carly, much to Sam's chagrin. Jonah and Valerie were still the greatest of friends, and Freddie was close to them. Gibby was no longer the school bully, being picked on Sam all the time, as were most of the other students. She had also turned her sights on Freddie, mostly for his having become close to Carly.

He followed Carly around like a lovesick puppy, it was shameful. Jonah was embarrassed for his friend and Valerie felt pity on him. They knew the reason he "loved" Carly, and it just wasn't right. It really couldn't be helped, though. Freddie had become more technical in knowledge, Jonah was decent as far as cameras went, as he basically grew up with Freddie. Valerie didn't do too much with cameras and other technology, she just wasn't fond of it and found more liking in baking. She loved to cook, and would often cook cupcakes all the time for the boys.

Another thing that Carly, Sam, and Freddie did was start up a webshow. It all began with Ms. Briggs's head on the body of a hippo. She was pissed with what they had done, but Carly believed in a world of free speech. So, they wanted to do something where kids could express themselves, thus came the birth of iCarly.

"Am I the only one that sees that this isn't right?" Valerie asked as she and Jonah watched the newest iCarly. Freddie was flirting about with Carly, she was letting him, and Sam was picking on him. "She is right about one thing, Carly won't ever like him, but I don't think he even _does _like her."

"He doesn't," Jonah replied grimly. At first, they tried to make Freddie realize Carly wasn't really as close to him or that she wasn't Sam, and a part of him did understand that, but he was intent on living on a memory. "It's like he wants her to be Sam, he still wants to have back what they used to have."

"What do you mean?"

"His dad and Sam, Michelle, Ciara, Josh…he wants it all back, but it'll never come back."

"Could we do anything? I mean…I already tried…" She frowned and slowly shook her head, yeah her plan did _not_ work out as she hoped. Sam was still aggressive, but that was a given, she had 'taken' Freddie from them. When she realized it wasn't going the way she wanted it to, she called it off and tried to explain to Freddie what had gone on. He said he didn't care so much about it, so he wasn't holding any grudges.

"Maybe going after Freddie isn't the right idea." Jonah stared at the iCarly screen and sighed, he really wanted Freddie back to normal. Freddie was living in the past, he didn't see past Sam's aggressive exterior. She was still the same shy little girl she'd always been. He closed his eyes and sighed, the best idea he could think of, and he didn't like it. "I can't think of anything good at all."

"You didn't come up with anything?"

"Well I came up with something…"

"What!" Jonah frowned and slowly sighed, he wasn't proud of this.

"What if…well, this is just stupid." Valerie waved her hand in the air, signaling for him to hurry to his point. He walked over to his bed and sat down onto it. "Say someone 'dated' Sam…and maybe the person cheated on her or something…" Valerie frowned and looked at Jonah carefully, she wasn't sure what to make of this idea of his. Although, she tried it with Freddie, but the girls weren't concerned enough about him to talk about it after the relationship ended. Although, anyone could see it in Sam's eyes, she wanted to console Freddie, but it was like he expected it to come from Carly. When it didn't, he had to move on himself.

"It could help Freddie to console her, I guess, and maybe see that the old Sam is still in there…"

"Yeah, but I'd feel like a chump." At least Sam didn't really know him all that well, she hadn't seen him around Freddie, nor did she really ever talk to him.

"Well should the opportunity arise, I think you should take it. Don't like do anything _too_ serious though…"

"There isn't much that would be done that _wouldn't_ hurt her, and I don't exactly _want_ to do that." Valerie walked over to him and gave him a hug, she wanted to let him know that it would be okay.

"We'll have to explain it to them later. We will. Okay?"

"Okay Val, if you say so."

It came to Jonah as a shock, when two days later, Sam spotted him and Carly made Freddie get him to ask Sam out. "So, you know Sam, right?" Freddie asked while leaning against his desk. He felt sick, insanely sick.

"Yeah, what about her, man?"

"Well…would you, uh…." Freddie choked and Jonah looked over at a trash bin, seriously considering bringing it over to his friend.

"Are you okay? Do you need some help?"

"I'm fine!" Jonah frowned as Freddie slowly breathed in and exhaled softly. He was just going to say it, as painful and disturbing a thought as it was. He never wanted Jonah and Sam to date, and now Carly wanted him to hook them up. He knew Sam better than Carly did, or he thought he had, and he was sure Sam wouldn't be into Jonah. Hell, wasn't Jonah into Valerie, or her into him? Sure the two weren't dating, but it was almost clear that they liked each other. Hell, they did everything together. "Just ask Sam on a date and be done with it."

"W-What…you're asking me to do that?" His jaw fell and Freddie nodded his head. He blinked and rubbed the back of his neck while remembering what Valerie told him. He didn't know she didn't really want him to do it. "I guess I can do that. Are you sure?"

"Yes! Now get me over to that trash can, I think I'm going to puke." Jonah nodded and helped carry Freddie over to the trashcan. Valerie was watching from the far corner of the room, she had the same class. Jonah looked at her nervously and she peered down at her homework, she was going to tell him today not to go through with the plan, but now it was just too late.

A week in, Jonah hadn't seen Valerie at all during that week. He had gone to her house to see if she was okay, since she hadn't been at school, but her sisters always told him she wasn't available, or that she had something that was incredibly contagious and she didn't want him getting sick. Now the time had come to end the relationship with Sam.

"He did _what?"_ Freddie shouted, appalled and aghast that his friend would honestly try to cheat on Sam. He thought he knew Jonah better than that, so why the hell would he do such a thing? Carly nodded as Freddie ran his hand through his hair, his anger rising. How could Jonah do that to Sam? He knew he shouldn't do anything until he understood what was really going on, but he needed some time alone to think.

"Come on, we need to shoot iCarly," Carly said with a frown. Jonah was just upstairs, probably hanging out with Sam. Freddie sighed and the two made their way upstairs to see Jonah on the phone, his eyes almost looked watery. Freddie frowned as he heard Jonah say his farewell to someone and hanging up. It was clear that it was a voicemail. He appeared very frustrated. Jonah stepped behind Freddie and frowned, he knew his friend was angry with him.

"Freddie, you need to listen to me," Jonah said quietly.

"Don't talk to me right now Jonah." Jonah swallowed as iCarly began. What would happen next, nobody really could tell.

"Jonah, would you come over here?" Sam asked quickly. Jonah raised his eyebrow and nodded, walking over to the girls. They turned him around and Freddie's eyebrows went up as Sam started to lower a hook. Freddie set the camera down and started walking out of the studio, he couldn't bear to watch what he knew would happen. "Freddie, where are you going? Would you press the button?"

"Yeah whatever…" Freddie didn't even look at Jonah as he pressed the button which sent him flying into the air. Jonah screamed in pain as Freddie walked out of the room. The girls soon left, trying to catch Freddie, but he was already gone.

An hour later, Freddie hadn't answered any of their calls and Jonah was _still_ on the wedgie bounce. The girls had forgotten about him. "Where is he?" Sam screamed out with concern. She sat on the couch, pounding her hand into the cushion. She'd always been dependent on him, he was her first friend and had told her everything. Why did he not pay any more attention to her? Carly always seemed so much more important to him.

Suddenly a rapid knocking came from the front door. Carly opened it and Valerie entered. "Valerie, what are you doing here?" Carly asked with a disapproving tone. She still wasn't fond of the girl. Sam looked up at her and frowned.

"You left Jonah on the wedgie bounce!" Valerie said as she hurried up the stairs. Sam quickly rose in surprise and followed her up the steps, but Carly remained downstairs. Valerie wasn't aware of Sam's presence. She ran into the door and gasped. "Jonah!"

"Valerie, you're…here…" He hoped she hadn't seen this shameful event, but that hope was just too good to be true. "I'm feeling a little numb here, can I get down? It's the fifth button over there…"

"Yeah, let me help you down." Valerie's heart was racing as she hurried to stop the wedgie bounce, she didn't want him to be hurt in any way. She was feeling really bad that she never stopped Jonah before this happened. "God Jonah, I'm so sorry!"

"It's not your fault." He moaned as the hook lowered and Valerie helped him off. He was just thankful that they hooked it on his pants or anywhere where his underwear actually wouldn't ride up his ass.

"Do you need to go to the hospital?"

"No, I'll be just fine." He groaned and tugged on his pants and looked up at the hook. "I'd say Freddie's more angry at me than he is concerned with Sam, though. Judging by the looks…"

"God I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, so, so sorry…" She gave Jonah a tearful hug and he sighed, he didn't think she'd take it that badly. "I wish we never thought of that idea, it was wrong."

"Well if it's any consolation, Carly's the one that convinced Freddie to make me ask her out." Valerie wiped her eyes and gasped when she heard Sam clear her throat. They turned around to see Sam staring them down, with her arms crossed over.

"What's going on here?" Sam asked while tapping her foot. Something wasn't right, she smelled a set-up. Jonah frowned as Valerie looked up at him nervously.

"We were _hoping_ to make you two…ah hell, where is Freddie?"

"I don't know, he won't answer his phone or anything. I don't like it…" She rubbed her arm and looked down, she really did want to know that he was okay. She felt like this was all brought on by her, but she wasn't sure. "Freddie's been so distant from me for years now…"

"Yeah, what changed I wonder?" Jonah didn't mean to sound so harsh, but he was really irritated with what had just happened to him. Sam frowned and closed her hands up.

"Before Carly came, Freddie and I were the greatest of friends. What changed?"

"Maybe if you think about it, or think about the reason Freddie _thinks_ he likes Carly. Anyway, if he can't be found…I have a feeling I know where he is." Valerie watched as Jonah left, she knew she'd have an interesting time trying to explain what just happened to Sam.

Jonah made his way to their old elementary school. If he was right, Freddie would be around here. It may have been years since they'd been there, but there was a little piece of land that none of them had ever forgotten about. Freddie always went there whenever he had something on his mind.

Freddie sat next to the small pond at the place they had called Den-Den many years ago. He was tossing rocks along the water when Jonah walked next to him. He frowned when he spotted Jonah's reflection in the water. "How did you find me?" Jonah sighed and looked up as the wind breezed against his face.

"You think I wouldn't remember this place, or that you always come here? This is just like that day all those years ago." Jonah knelt next to Freddie and tossed a pebble across the water. "You can hate me if you want."

"Why would you do that? You're not that kind of person…I know you're not." Jonah frowned as Freddie glanced over at him with his eyes. "How do you feel by the way?"

"In a lot of pain, Valerie probably thinks I should go to the emergency room."

"If she thinks so, then you should. She probably knows more than you." Jonah laughed as Freddie smirked, Valerie did have a tendency to make decisions a little better than Jonah did. Although, she did mess up sometimes. "She wasn't really sick this week, was she?"

"I don't know, I don't attempt to understand her mind." Freddie laughed and Jonah removed his shoes. He pulled his pants up a bit and bathed his feet in the pond. It was something they used to always do when they were younger, and it was still nice, it was nice to just feel the cool waters against their feet. "Just like I bet you don't attempt to understand Sam's."

"Sam…" Freddie looked into the air and sighed, he missed how she used to be, before she became this juvenile delinquent type person. "She used to be so sweet."

"Almost as sweet as Valerie."

"That's too sweet." Jonah chuckled and closed his eyes. He did think Valerie was an amazing girl, an angel to him. "I thought you didn't even like Carly that much, Jonah."

"No, I believe when she arrived, something happened between you and Sam. You started thinking Carly was Sam before that accident." Freddie frowned and looked to the ground, Jonah was right. Carly was almost symbolic of something that seemed so far gone. "If not for that memory, would you even like Carly?"

"No…" His voice was a whisper. He couldn't explain himself, he still liked Sam, but he liked the her that was gone. "Sam's gone though, the Sam I knew and remembered."

"No she's really not, Freddie. She's still the same innocent, shy girl that she's always been. I was stupid and thought maybe by doing what I did, I could get you to see that and get you two together, but I didn't realize some of the other ramifications."

"You mean to tell me it was all a _plan_?"

"Yeah…a plan that went to hell. Sam doesn't even seem that concerned either. She seemed more concerned about where you were than what I just did. I don't know if you can forgive me, I was just trying to get you to see…she still needs you. I know she hasn't really _coped_ with her sister's death, but Valerie is trying to talk to her. I don't know how that's going to go. I do know, it seems she's really started to become more aggressive towards you, than anyone else."

"Why would she do that?"

"Why do you think…same reason she wasn't fond of Carly when she first saw her…" Freddie frowned and slowly stood up, he knew what Jonah was talking about. He would need to talk to her, he needed to, it wasn't just Sam that changed all those years ago. Even he had been affected by the deaths.

"Do you think we stood any chance of what happened not changing us?"

"Think about the reason she started getting the way she is now, it was Gibby. Seems, she's retained the thought that aggression is what resolves conflict…" Jonah felt his rear and sighed, he was afraid he'd be feeling this for quite some time.

"So maybe if I showed her she didn't have to be aggressive…I wasn't exactly around when we were kids to keep Gibby from being a bully. Now she just bullies anyone that hurts her."

"Yeah, there's some good food for thought, buddy." Jonah stood up and patted Freddie's shoulder. Freddie was confused, what did Jonah mean by that? Unless, he considered Freddie was the one hurting Sam, because she picked on him all the time.

"Why…I don't understand…"

"You will, but anyway, are we cool?" Jonah looked at him apologetically, Freddie smiled and nodded his head, giving Jonah a fist bump.

"Yeah we're good." Jonah's phone began ringing and he quickly answered it, since the ringtone belonged to Valerie. Freddie smirked and stared at Freddie, the ringtone was an almost romantic seeming tone. Jonah's face grew red and he slowly walked a few feet away. She was frantic, she had horrible news. After a minute, Jonah hung up and looked over at Freddie sadly. "What's wrong?"

"Evidently Sam's mom has gone crazy. Ciara's having Sam move in with her."

"What! When?"

"Tomorrow…" Freddie gasped and he took a shaky step back, this couldn't be right. It wasn't fair. What could her mother have done so wrong that it made Ciara have to take Sam in? "Valerie said Sam won't be able to do anything with you or Carly, she needs to pack…"

"I can't believe this. I want to talk to her, I _have_ to talk to her."

"Well isn't Ciara still dating Josh?" And cue the heavenly chorus of angels, Josh and Ciara had recently become engaged. If anything, Freddie could still see Sam. Both of them were in grad school, and wanted to get married _after_ all of their college was finished.

"Yeah…I think right now it'd be best that I talk to Carly, though."

"Are you still crushing on her?"

"No, I know what you were trying to say. You went about it the wrong way, I will say that." Jonah nodded and bowed his head, there wasn't a minute he wouldn't feel guilty about that. "But yeah, I need to at least let her know that I'm sorry."

"It'd be best for you two to just be friends. You know, Valerie said by the phone call Sam received, it wasn't just her mother, but a number of factors pertaining to her aggressive behavior. She had never gotten rebuked for all of her nature."

"We don't even get to say goodbye?"

"Carly and Valerie did, you and I were here. We need to get going…" Freddie slowly nodded as he and Jonah looked over the area and smiled sadly. It was still the most beautiful place they'd ever been to.

"You know, that rabbit is still around here somewhere, he and his family still hop around." Jonah smiled as he and Freddie started walking away.

"You give him carrots, don't you?"

"Yes." Jonah often went to the pond too, but not as frequently as Freddie did. This was depressing, after all this, and now Sam had to move all the way to where Harvard was, states away. He felt so stupid, just crappy, that he wasted all this time fawning over a dream when the real thing was right there, changing because he never was there for her. "Crap…"

* * *

Hope you liked this. There are 18 total chapters of this story.


	14. Michelle's Memory

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

* * *

Chapter 14 (Michelle's Memory)

"I don't want to go, Ciara," Sam begged her sister with tears in her eyes. She didn't want to leave Freddie, or Carly. She wanted to stay and do iCarly. This had already happen once before, not to her, but to Carly. Maybe that was foreshadowing this event. Her mom had shown herself to be incapable of raising her, due to her depression. "Someone has to take care of mom, right? I mean, you can't just leave her."

"She's coming _with_ us," Ciara said as she packed her mother's bag. Her mom had been released from the hospital, which was a surprise, since usually the doctors would have put her on suicide watch. Then again, she seemed coherent enough. "Mom already agreed to this, Sam. I don't want to have to worry about you or her ending up somewhere you shouldn't be. For example, you in juvenile or our mother in the hospital…" She grunted as she pushed the clothes in the bag down and shut the suitcase, zipping the bag up. "I'm sorry it's come to this, I really am, but I don't have any choice."

"I know, but I don't want to leave Freddie." She sat down on the bed and crossed her arms over, this was the emptiest she'd ever seen her room. Ciara frowned and sat next to her, slowly placing her hand on Sam's back as the tears rolled down the young girl's cheeks. "I don't want to lose him, but I think I already did."

"Why would you say that? He's always been a good friend to you."

"Yeah he has, and that's just it." She wiped her eyes and gazed out of her bedroom door. Across the hall was the room that Michelle used to have, it didn't look much different at all than when she had been alive. "I just wanted to be like her, I wanted to be able to be strong."

"Oh Sam…you've always been strong." Ciara smiled and gave her sister a hug, holding her closely to her chest. "I know you want to preserve Michelle's memory, but I think you're doing it the wrong way." Sam sniffed as her older sister slowly stood up and started walking towards the door. She smiled and looked back, waving her hand in the air. "Come here."

"What do you want to do?" Sam walked towards Ciara and followed her into Michelle's room.

"I haven't quite gotten everything from here yet. I wanted to show you something." Ciara moved to the closet in the room and opened it up. On the top shelf, in the back of the closet, was a dusty old album. She pulled it off and blew on it, then wiped the rest of the dust off. Sam tilted her head as she and Ciara sat on the bed. "This was an old scrapbook that Michelle worked on, I helped her. Look at it Sam, I think you'll be surprised."

"I didn't know she had it here…"

"She never finished it, she wanted to always have it to remember." Fresh tears came to Sam's eyes as she read the words on the cover of the book. _My baby sister and me, the best girl I know. _"She was working on scrapbooking for each member of the family, but of everyone, you were her favorite."

"I was?"

"Yes, because you were so good, so pure, so 'divine' as she would say." Ciara chuckled and stared at the album, tears starting to come to her eyes as well. She wiped them off and slowly exhaled, opening the album. She missed Michelle like crazy, as well as her father, the deaths had made her strive to be the best in everything she could do. On the front page was a picture of a young Sam and a poem beneath it, entitled Always There, found online and written by Rachel S Lengefield.

"A perfect poem for my baby sis, may she never change," Michelle's words seemed frozen in time across the page. They spoke to the girls, as a message from the distant past.

_I'll always be here through thick and thin  
You can come to me, I'll listen  
I'm your friend, I won't push you away  
When you need a hug, my arms are wide open  
When you need to talk, I have an open ear  
_

_Your growing up and getting older  
Know that I'm always here, I'm not going anywhere  
Wherever you are, I'm there with you  
You're in my heart and my prayers  
Just know I'm here, because I truly care  
_

_You're my sister, you mean so much  
Don't want to see you hurt or cry  
I'll wipe the tears, I'll get rid of your fears  
Want to see you grow up and achieve  
Just believe, have faith  
_

_You can do anything  
You're beautiful inside and out  
You're smart and very talented  
You're many things, but most all, you're my sister  
I believe in you and know that I'll never stop loving you_

Sam's body shook as she read the poem. Her heart pounded and the tears never ceased to flow. That Michelle would choose a poem so beautiful for her, it really meant a lot to her. She tried to speak, but she couldn't. Ciara looked at her and she nodded, signaling Ciara to turn the page.

The next page was of pictures of Sam when she was a little baby. "Sam Puckett, born April 17th, 1994. She was a gift to mom and dad, I was a jealous little girl when she was born. I remember hiding her favorite rattle, I got in trouble with my big sis and parents." Next to the passage was a picture of Sam's baby rattle, it was pink and with blue stripes. Sam chuckled lightly and smiled as she tentatively traced the rattle with her finger. "Hey Sam, if you're wondering where that rattle is now, mom and dad wanted to get rid of it when you were older, but I hid it where nobody will ever find it. It's in the crawlspace in my closet."

"Huh, is that where it went?" Ciara said quietly as she placed the book on the bed and walked over to the closet. Sam watched as her sister found the crawlspace and searched it, eventually finding the old rattle covered in dust. Ciara lifted her eyebrows and looked over to Sam, chuckling wryly. "I think this belongs to you." Sam slowly reached out for it and took it from Ciara, raising her eyebrow as she stared at the rattle.

"Why would she have kept this thing?"

"Memories, I guess." Sam slowly nodded as Ciara sat down and began slowly going through the pages. Eventually they came to a photo of Sam and Freddie at five years old. Sam sniffed and smiled softly.

"My baby sister with her new best friend, Freddie Benson. She was so shy, but he helped her through that. She's learning the new school so well, I couldn't be prouder of her. I hope she excels at everything she does."

"Ciara, I miss her."

"I know Sam, I know." Ciara placed her arm around Sam and let her cry on her shoulder. She wanted Michelle to be with her, she wanted to hold her sister next to her. Ciara flipped through another few pages, slowly, and eventually came to a picture of Gibby.

"This is the school bully, I showed him who's boss. I didn't like having to do that in front of Sam, but nobody messes with my little sister! I hope she doesn't do things like what I did, though, it's just not her, not at all. I know Ciara always tells me that little kids can pick up on behavior quickly…My little sister wouldn't, she can be tough in her own way. She's smart, beautiful, intelligent, she's so much more than Gibby is."

"She really thought that?" Sam asked quietly, bowing her head. Ciara closed her eyes as Sam sobbed once more.

"It was one of her last entries."

"What?" Ciara knew what was on the next page, and it tore her apart. Sam wanted to see it, because she had an idea what was there as well. Ciara's hands shook slightly and she pulled them away, letting Sam be the one to turn the page.

"I have that doctor's appointment today, but I don't want to go. I know I'm supposed to be the tough one, but I've never been strong. Sam, you're always the one that makes me strong, remember that. God I'm afraid of thunder. It's been raining all day. Why Dad, why can't you just reschedule this appointment? I'll continue my scrapbooking later, since Dad's in a hurry and I'm being rushed. Sam, I will always be with you, no matter what."

Just underneath it was a photo of Sam at that age, and the words 'never change' were etched in Michelle's handwriting beneath the photo. Realizing that was the end of the album, and reality hit, Sam fell to the bed and started bawling. She curled up in Ciara's arms and let her sister comfort her. "We need to see her before we leave, Ciara," Sam said through her sobs. Ciara understood what Sam meant and slowly nodded her head, agreeing with her little sister.

Two hours later, all the packing had been done, and Ciara was driving to the cemetery. They parked alongside an oak tree and everyone exited the vehicle. Slowly, Ciara, Sam, and Sarah walked to Michelle's and David's gravestones. Michelle's tombstone was in the shape of a cross. Ciara stood next to Sam, with her hand placed gently on her shoulder while Sarah stood on the other side with tears in her eyes. It had been so long since they'd visited the grave.

"Do you think she would have been proud?" Sam asked quietly.

"I think so," Ciara answered with a soft smile. Sam nodded and slowly stepped forward, placing some flowers in the cup bolted at Michelle's grave.

"Hi Michelle, mom and I are moving in with Ciara now. It's for the best. I think I pushed Freddie away, because when you…passed on…I didn't act right. I thought the only way to have you with me was to be like you, but I think that was wrong. I miss you, we all miss you…Did you know Ciara's in medical school now? Ciara and Josh are engaged now, you wouldn't believe how happy everyone is about that. I mean, I remember back then, you really wanted to see them together. I don't know if I'll personally see Freddie again or not, maybe at Ciara's wedding. I promise I'm going to do my best to make you and dad proud of me."

Ciara draped her arm around Sam's shoulder while the girl turned and buried her head into her sister's chest. She didn't think it was possible to still cry this hard. Sarah carefully placed flowers at David's grave as well, while Ciara pointed to Sam's pocket. "Do you want to give her that?"

"What? Oh! Yeah…" Sam slowly pulled the old rattle from her pocket and knelt down, slowly placing it in the container with the flowers. "Here Michelle…I want you to have this, a part of me I guess…I have your album, and all the memories of you."

The family stayed there for what seemed like a good hour. Ciara slowly gazed at her car and sighed. "It's time to go. We need to leave now if we want to get to the airport by sundown, we don't want to miss the flight." Sam and Sarah nodded as the family said their final goodbyes to David and Michelle, then made their way to the car. Josh would be waiting for them in Massachusetts. It was going to be a long flight, at least for them. Ciara started up the car and began driving, tears were in everyone's eyes as they watched the cemetery vanish in the distance. It would be nothing but silence to the airport.

* * *

I uploaded twice for a reason that I don't really want to bother explaining, lol. If you'll do me a favor, go read my story 'taking down paragon' which is a cool action/adventure story I'm starting. Sure it's not a romantic fluff story, but I don't want people to pass it up just because it's not focusing on romance, fluff, and shippings. Please read it. Two people so far seem to really like it, I'm hoping for some more, but either way...


	15. It Is Called Meddling

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

A/N: Now Christmas Day, these two chapters are my present to you, you'll see why in the NEXT chapter, but they both go together. I wanted to have them up by today anyway ^_^. ENJOY!

* * *

Chapter 15 (It's Called Meddling)

"We have to cancel iCarly," Carly said with a frown as she sat on her couch. It had been a week since Sam left, and nobody heard from her. In reality, she'd lost her phone and didn't remember any numbers. It was devastating. Carly didn't want to have to cancel iCarly, but without a co-host, there wasn't any way to continue it. Freddie honestly hadn't cared about the show, he was more upset over losing Sam.

He and Carly had talked about his crush on her, and everything was good between them now. Freddie liked her better as a friend, and in truth, she preferred him as a friend too. Freddie realized that with Sam, it didn't matter how she was, he still loved her. It was too late now. "I guess there's no way around it, without Sam here." Carly nodded as she and Freddie walked up to the studio, now was the only chance they had to end it for another week. They started their final broadcast.

It went for a little over an hour, fans had been heartbroken and torn, but they understood. Without Sam, the dynamic of iCarly had been torn. Now, Carly and Sam just lazed about the studio, bored out of their minds. "I can't believe Jonah and Valerie had gone to those extremes in order to get through to you and Sam." Freddie chuckled and smiled briefly, he had to admit, he never thought they'd do it either. Then again, he and Sam were always stubborn as hell. It would have to take something hard to get through their thick skulls.

"Yeah, but they're so focused on us, they're too damn blind to see how much they like each other." Carly laughed and looked at a picture on a desk. It was of the iCarly trio. Those days were going to be missed. Freddie tilted his head back and groaned loudly. "There has _got_ to be something to do about this boredom!"

"Yeah…" She was still eyeing the picture and smiling. She never noticed how Sam was looking at Freddie in the photo, that girl was so into him it wasn't even funny. Just then, a thought occurred to her. "Freddie, didn't you say Valerie was 'sick' the whole week Jonah dated Sam? As fake as it was…"

"Yeah, she even had her sisters not letting him in the house, she told them to tell him she had something contagious."

"And then she ran in here in a wild frenzy when we had Jonah on that wedgie bounce."

"Yeah, and your point?" He looked over at Carly and his brow furrowed. What was she so concerned with them for? He lifted his eyebrows up when she saw a devious grin stretch on her face. "Oh no, you're scheming something aren't you? Well I'm not having any part of it!"

"Yes you are." She looked at him and kept nodding her head while he shook his.

"No I'm _not_."

"Yes, you are." This went on for another few seconds until he gave in and decided to help her with whatever plan she had. "Call Vanessa, we're going to get Valerie's sisters in on this."

"I don't know that I have their number." He did have Valerie's cell in his phone, but he never called her. He knew Jonah would have Valerie's home number, but his friend would be suspicious if he called him. Carly tapped her chin and grinned, she knew one of the sisters. The third born, after Vanessa and Valerie, Veronica, took private art lessons. Spencer taught art lessons, and Veronica Williams was one of his students.

"Valerie's little thirteen year old sister, that's Veronica, right?"

"Yeah, what's your point?"

"I think she's one of Spencer's students!" She quickly got up and started running downstairs with Freddie in quick pursuit. They found Spencer sculpting yet another figure. He looked over and smiled at the two.

"Where's the fire at?" Spencer asked curiously.

"Spencer, you teach Veronica Williams, right?"

"Uh-huh." He continued chiseling at the stone, his tongue hanging out of his mouth as he focused on his artwork. Carly breathed in and grinned triumphantly.

"We need to know her phone number so we can reach her sister, Vanessa." Spencer raised his eyebrow and slowly stood up, closing his eyes and sighing. He wondered why they didn't just go through Valerie for that, he was not allowed to give out his student's information to anybody.

"I can't do that Carly. Legally, I can't give any of my student's information out unless it's their own personal family. By family, I mean her parents or siblings. Confidentiality rules, Carly. Why don't you just go to Valerie?" Carly pouted and crossed her arms over, this was a bit of an obstacle blocking her path.

"We can't, we want to talk to Vanessa about getting Valerie and Jonah together."

"Meddling in someone else's relationship, sis?" He smirked and went back to his sculpture. He still wasn't giving her information. "At four, that's when her lesson is. Her older sister usually drops her off and hangs around for a little while. You can't get involved with Veronica while I'm teaching her, but you can certainly talk to her sister."

"Which older sister? She has _two_."

"The one that has the driver's license." Carly and Freddie chuckled nervously and glanced at each other oddly. Obviously it would be Vanessa, Valerie was only fifteen, she didn't even have her permit yet. Vanessa was seventeen.

"Okay, thanks Spencer!" Carly grabbed Freddie's wrist and he yelped as she pulled him up the stairs. Spencer watched them and chuckled to himself, Carly sure was crazy.

Three hours later, Vanessa and Veronica had arrived. Carly and Freddie made their ways to the stairs and smiled when the two girls walked in. Vanessa was very pretty. She had a slim figure and deep brown hair that rested gently on her shoulders. Now, Freddie only had eyes for Sam, but he was still a boy and they did have their horomones. So, why didn't Valerie ever tell him that she had a hot older sister? Carly rolled her eyes and smiled as Freddie cleared his throat. He definitely needed to get that visual out. Veronica was pretty as well, and looked just a little bit like a model.

"Mr. Shay, I'm here for my art lesson," Veronica said with a smile. He waved as the young girl walked over to the kitchen counter where he was standing. "May I have a bottle of water please?"

"Yes you may," Spencer answered while making his way to the refrigerator. Vanessa glanced over at Carly and Freddie as the two descended the steps. They made their way over to her and smiled.

"Hey I'm Carly, you're Valerie's sister aren't you?"

"Yeah, Vanessa…" Vanessa shook Carly's hand and the three made their way to the couch. "You're wanting to talk about Valerie? Did she do something?"

"Well, we wanted to know what you thought about Jonah." Vanessa chuckled and closed her eyes.

"He's a good friend. Those two are always doing something together. Why do you ask?"

"Well we were just wondering…do you think they would make a good couple?" Vanessa laughed and nodded her head.

"What, they're not already one?"

"We want to try and get them together!" Vanessa hummed as she looked over at her sister, who was currently working on a painting. She was proud of her little sister, trying her best to learn all she could.

"You mean you want to meddle in their relationship?" Freddie gave Carly a look and smirked, while she simply scowled at him.

"Meddling is such a strong word. I like to think of it as just pushing the ball forward for two people who are obviously so into each other."

"Basically meddling," Freddie said with a smile. Carly lifted her hand and smacked him in the back of the head, all while smiling innocently at Vanessa. Vanessa laughed and gave Carly a nod of approval.

"I'm in. The way those two are going, they'll never tell each other anything about how they feel. What do you have in mind? Nothing dangerous, I hope."

"Well, that's where you come in, because we're not too sure what to do." They could try the whole, dating to make one person jealous, but that sure wasn't going to work. Hell that became clear when Valerie dated Freddie, and then Jonah dated Sam. Valerie was the one who took the other dating harder, and _still_ no one figured it out.

"Question," Freddie said while holding his hand up. He was already a bit bored with the discussion. "Why can't we just talk to them?"

"They're stubborn, they won't listen," Vanessa said with a slight shrug. Freddie sighed and looked over at the television. He remembered when he was just a kid and both he and Sam managed to get their older siblings closer together and eventually date. Then suddenly, an idea dawned on him. Valerie's two youngest sisters Vixen and Victoria were nine and eleven, respectively. Not only that, but Jonah had a younger sister, Olivia, who was nine as well. She was friends with Vixen. Nobody could ever turn down a child's cuteness. If it worked for Ciara and Josh, then why wouldn't it work for Jonah and Valerie? A devious grin appeared on his face and the girls looked over at him curiously.

"Freddie, what are you thinking?" Carly asked when she saw the look on his face. She couldn't help but to wonder at his plan.

"I think we can use the same thing that Sam and I did when we were younger." Carly and Vanessa raised their eyebrows and shrugged, deciding to discuss Freddie's plan.

* * *

Yes, meddling. They will meddle, now the next chapter you will love. I think it's funny that I ended up naming it the same title as a previous chapter I wrote two years ago...so I have to rename it :P.


	16. Love and War

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

* * *

Chapter 16 (Love and War)

The middle of December found Jonah and Valerie walking through the park amidst all the snow. They stayed near the playground, watching it at all times, because their younger siblings were there with them. Vixen and Olivia had begged their respective sibling to take them to the park and Victoria had decided she was going to go with them whether they wanted her to or not. That was what brought them to the park.

They could see Victoria walking around, but they weren't sure where the other girls were. They were starting to become nervous when they couldn't see them. "Vixen! Olivia!" Victoria called out, cupping her mitted hands over her mouth. Jonah and Valerie looked at each other, their concern growing more. Victoria spotted them and ran to them. "Sis, I don't know where Vixen and Olivia went to!"

"What are you talking about?" Valerie asked quickly, her heart pounding in her chest. Jonah felt his stomach fall as he quickly looked over at the playground, Olivia wasn't anywhere to be found. "Jonah?"

"We need to find them, they're not on the playground," Jonah said quietly. "Victoria, stay close to us, okay?" Victoria nodded and ran with the two over to the playground. They searched high and low, but didn't see them anywhere. Victoria was questioning some kids on the playground, and found Guppy on the slides. She grinned and quickly frowned, bringing Guppy over to Jonah. He was surprised to see Gibby's little brother here. "Guppy, what are you doing here?"

"Playing, it's my big bubba's birthday!" Guppy said energetically. Jonah couldn't help but to chuckle, considering Gibby's birthday had been almost a month ago. Valerie was panicking, so Jonah had to do his best to remain calm and try to keep her calm. He knelt next to Guppy and placed his hand on the boy's shoulder.

"Guppy, we're looking for our sisters. Have you seen them?"

"Yes! They left the park!" Valerie gasped and for a moment, she thought she was going to faint. She had to find the girls, she couldn't risk losing any of them.

"Jonah, where could they be?" Valerie cried out in terror. Jonah stood up and took her hand, looking into her eyes.

"Valerie, we'll find them, don't worry. I know my little sister, she knows to keep to herself whenever she's alone." In fact, Olivia often walked all over the place, it was possible she took Vixen on one of her walks. "We're going to find them."

"I hope you're right. I don't know what I'd do if I lost one of my sisters." Victoria rubbed the back of her head and sighed, she definitely didn't want to scare them for too long. She looked up to her older sister.

"We could try the school," Victoria suggested. The school was just around the corner, it was very likely that they went to the playground there. "Maybe they're playing at the school playground. Less people there, and you know how Olivia is."

"Yeah but she wouldn't go off on her own without telling me," Jonah said while crossing his arms over in thought. He would definitely have to have a talk with her when they found her. She had better be safe too, his dad wouldn't be able to take it if something happened to Olivia. Hell, it was up to Jonah to take care of his father, since the man wasn't doing so well, even still. "Guppy, is your brother around here?"

"Yes, he is."

"Would you have him look around the park and give us a call if he sees either Vixen or Olivia?" Guppy nodded and Jonah quickly inhaled. "Thank you. Valerie, let's run by the school, maybe they're over there." The trio ran from the park and headed to the school, when they made it there, Victoria became separated from them.

"Jonah! Victoria's gone now!" Valerie said abruptly. Jonah halted and shouted out angrily.

"Damn it, I told her to stay close to us." There wasn't anyone at the school, so they weren't sure exactly where the girls could have gone. Although, with Victoria being gone now, they were starting to suspect something was out of place. Why would she leave them unless she knew where the girls were? The realization started to come to Jonah and he quickly frowned. "Valerie, I think maybe we've been duped."

"What do you mean?"

"Well think about it, Victoria usually listens to you right?" Valerie slowly nodded and Jonah continued to stare ahead at a group of trees. "Now she wouldn't normally leave if we told her to stay with us, right?"

"Yeah…" In the corner of his eye, he thought he might have seen some movement.

"Then, I think Olivia and Vixen are a bit on the troublemaking side, aren't they?" His jaw grew firm as Valerie slowly nodded, trying to figure out what he was getting to. At the group of trees, he was pretty sure he saw a pile of snowballs. Valerie turned around and placed her hands on her hip, she really didn't see that now was a time to stall, not when all the girls were missing.

"Okay what's your point?"

"Duck."

"What?" She raised her eyebrow and gasped as Jonah quickly flipped around her and shielded her.

"I said duck!" Three snowballs hit him on the back and Valerie's eyes widened. They had been tricked, just as Jonah thought. Valerie started to laugh nervously as she and Jonah looked over at the trees. Olivia, Vixen, and Victoria were all peering around the tree trunks and holding snowballs, smirking dangerously.

"Don't fire till you see the whites of their eyes!" Victoria shouted out, quoting the famous words of the Revolution.

"Here! Here!" Vixen and Olivia shouted, pounding their snowballs into the air.

"Jonah, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Valerie asked with a blank expression on her face. If she was thinking 'run' then yes, he was thinking exactly that.

"They've turned on us!" Jonah shouted as he quickly grabbed Valerie's hand and the two started running. After a second of running and being bombarded by snowballs, they came to a halt. Freddie was standing in front of them now, smirking. "Freddie! You need to help us, our sister's turned on us!"

"Is that so?" Freddie asked as he pulled two snowballs out from behind his back. Jonah whimpered and Valerie's eyes widened.

"Et tu, Fred?"

"Sorry Pal." Valerie looked beyond Freddie and saw Vanessa, Carly, and Veronica stepping out from the trees. She tugged on Jonah and he screamed, turning around and running with her. Freddie threw the snowballs and hit him on the back. "Backstabber!" Jonah and Valerie ran to the west and stopped when they saw his father standing sideways to them, glancing at them with a frown. His hand nearest them was in his pocket while his free hand was by his side.

"Jonah, this is quite a predicament you've gotten yourself in," Michael said quietly. "What would Denise say if she knew you lost Olivia?"

"Dad, I…uh oh…" Jonah saw Michael moving his free hand up slightly and narrow his eyes, he had a snowball in his hand. "Run Valerie!" Everyone was closing in on them and pelting them with snowballs.

"No!" Valerie screamed as she blocked the snowballs with her arms. Jonah grabbed her hand and quickly ran to the trees, trying to get away from everyone. They couldn't help but to laugh, they really were having fun. Valerie was impressed that everyone seemed to be in on the prank. "Jonah! The pile of snowballs, let's go!"

"Right!" They quickly tucked behind a tree, Jonah held Valerie close to him so they could fully hide from the others. He was embracing her with his arms around her waist. She looked up at him and he gazed into her eyes, their hearts were starting to pound hard in their chests and a blush crept to their cheeks.

"You don't have to hold me so close, you know."

"Sorry…"

"I like it."

"I know." Jonah smirked slightly and his eyes trailed down to Valerie's lips. He slowly breathed out and Valerie pressed her lips together. Holding her this closely to him, it was something he wanted to keep to himself. He didn't want to share her with anyone. And above all else, he wanted to kiss those puffy, beautiful lips of hers.

Suddenly a snowball hit the tree. Someone must have spotted them. Valerie yelped and quickly leapt out next to the pile of snowballs and looked over to see Vanessa smirking at her, cupping a snowball in her hand. "Hey little sis, what are you and Jonah doing behind that tree there?"

"None of your business, Vanessa!" Valerie quickly grabbed the snowballs and began pelting them at Vanessa. Jonah watched in awe as the two sisters commenced their snowball war. Valerie was dodging left and right while throwing the balls directly at her sister, hitting her often. Damn, she was hot.

"Okay you got me Val! I'm out!"

"Oh and this one's for my teddy bear when I was six!" Vanessa raised her eyebrows and shouted as Valerie pelted her sister with another couple of snowballs.

"That was a long time ago! Plus it was an accident!"

"Yeah, I'm sure Fuzzy lost his head by accident!" Jonah laughed and placed his hand on his forehead. God he loved this girl. He quickly ran out and grabbed a few snowballs, and grabbed Valerie as well.

"Come on Valerie, you got her!" Jonah said as he pulled her away. Valerie nodded as they took off to the east, they needed to find somewhere safe. They could just feel their family after them. Valerie looked back and sighed, everyone was still looking for them.

"Keep going Jonah, we're almost out of the danger zone."

"I don't think so!" They stopped and frowned, Gibby was now in front of them, smirking triumphantly.

"Jonah, Valerie, where are you guys going?" Gibby asked while bouncing the snowball in his hand. They looked back and moaned when they saw Guppy behind them with a bag of snowballs. "Hey Sam's not around, I don't have to get beaten anymore, but I've learned my lesson. Having a little brother look up to you really puts some perspective on your life. However, that by no means determines whether or not I'm going to pelt you with snowballs until you are frozen."

"Jonah we're trapped," Valerie said as she gripped his arm tightly. Jonah narrowed his eyes and smirked as he looked to Guppy.

"Hey Guppy!" Gibby raised his eyebrow suspiciously as Guppy grinned and looked at Jonah inquisitively. "It's Gibby's birthday!" Guppy grinned as his eyes brightened with joy. Gibby moaned and slapped his forehead as Jonah went on. "Give him a present, the best thing is to hit him with snowballs."

"Okay!" Guppy said with a joyous step towards Gibby. "Happy Birthday!"

"Guppy, it's not my-" Gibby screamed as Guppy started hitting him with snowballs. Gibby smirked and tossed his snowball at Guppy, they were out. Jonah and Valerie turned around and ran, and as they ran, they were hit with another snowball. They looked to the left and saw Spencer grinning at them.

"Hey! You think you can't be spotted?" Spencer asked as he threw another snowball.

"Damn it!" There was only one other place they could run and be safe, the one place that was off limits to a snowball war. Jonah quickly grabbed a handful of snow and packed it together. "You're going down Spencer!"

"Whatever!" Spencer and Jonah both threw a snowball and the two met in midair. Spencer laughed as Valerie threw a backup snowball, which hit him in the chest. "Ack, that is cold!" He shook off the snow and his eyes widened when he saw Jonah chuck two snowballs in his direction. He grunted and fell to his knees. "I surrender! I'm out!"

"Valerie, let's go, there's one place we can't be touched!" Valerie nodded as Jonah took her hand in his and quickly ran to the secret little pond they loved. They ran through the bushes, unseen. The snow was a little slipperier in that area, and the first to go down was Valerie.

"Jonah!" He shouted as he started falling too, since he had still been holding her hand. She laughed and screamed as he fell on top of her. He quickly put his hands out and planted them in the snow, stopping his fall so he wouldn't actually hurt her and land on her. He chuckled nervously and looked into her wide eyes. Their chests were heaving and their hearts pounding once again.

"You got snow in your hair, Val." Valerie blushed as Jonah brushed her hair gently. "It really brings out your beauty, and goes well with your skin tone." The blush grew redder and Valerie quickly flicked some snow onto Jonah's face, smirking daringly.

"You don't mean that do you?" Valerie searched his eyes, then trailed her eyes down to his lips. She swallowed and raised her arms around his waist, reaching to his back.

"You are beautiful, Valerie. I've always thought that."

"Wow. I wonder why you never told me that." She smirked and he slowly looked to the side, blushing harder. So he'd always been scared to say it. "You sure know how to make a woman feel good, Jonah." She laughed slightly and he shifted his eyes back to her gaze. "So we're back here, huh? Do you think we should rename this place?"

"I don't know, I never call it anything. Maybe…how does Heaven sound?"

"Heaven?" Jonah lowered himself slightly and Valerie's blush was so crimson that it didn't seem like it could get any redder.

"Yeah, I met you here and ever since, it's been our peaceful little area…Not only that, but whenever I look into your eyes, then it's just like-"

"Heaven…" Jonah nodded and Valerie slowly closed her eyes. His breath on her lips was like perfection. Finally, his lips met hers. The feeling sparked incredibly as they embraced each other tightly. The snow was cold, but to them it felt like warm fire. After a moment of holding their lips together, they broke the contact, both of them still blushing. "Yeah Jonah, I'd say heaven is perfect for this place." She was breathless, but she was used to getting that feeling around him.

"Let me help you up here…" Jonah slowly stood up and took Valerie's hand in hers. He pulled her up and she steadied herself against his chest.

"Thanks…" They looked over and suddenly Olivia and Vixen came walking in, they were arguing about which of their siblings was took care of their respective parent better.

"Well Jonah's always making sure Dad stays happy and he make sure to help daddy with his work whenever he can," Olivia argued.

"Mommy's never depressed because Valerie always takes care of her," Vixen argued. "She even cooks food so mommy doesn't have to!" Jonah and Valerie glanced at each other nervously and chuckled, it seemed neither of the young girls knew where they were.

"Well I bet my daddy and Jonah are closer and spend more time together than your mom and Valrie do."

"No, Valerie and mommy are always together, because mommy got hurted in the war. So they spend more time than Joney and Mr. Brown." Valerie tightened her hand in Jonah's hand and smiled at him. He looked back at her and smiled, then whispered she still had snow in her hair and brushed it out.

"Well how about this, I bet Jonah spends more time with dad than your sister spends with your mom."

"Fine, what's your wager?"

"Then your sister needs to ask my brother on a date!"

"And if I win?"

"Then my brother needs to ask Valerie." Jonah's eye twitched for a second as Valerie's blush returned. The girls then realized that their older siblings were right there and chuckled nervously. Olivia smiled innocently as Jonah took a step forward. "Hi brother, how are you?"

"I think you should run now," Jonah said quietly. Olivia and Vixen laughed uproariously and took off running. Jonah looked to Valerie and smirked. "How does Friday after school sound? That French Café on Baker Street sound any good to you?"

"Yeah," Valerie replied with a smile. She would love to go out with him, finally.

"Good, I'll pick you up at six!" Valerie nodded and smiled as Jonah quickly took off after the girls. He had an idea what this whole snowball thing had been for, and now, it was confirmed. Next, he was going to get Freddie. It was payback time, even though he did get something great out of all this. He got his first kiss with Valerie and was finally going on a date with the girl of his dreams, who had been there the whole time. The second he got out in the open, he became a one man army, fighting _everybody_ in what had to be the largest snowball fight ever.

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Yes, origionally I had named this chapter "Snowball War" and that was the same name as one of my prior chaps. Hope you really enjoyed this. Stick around for the next amazing chapter. There are two more left to this story.


	17. College Game

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Thoughts in _Italics_, speech in regular font

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Chapter 17 (College Game)

Four years later, eighteen year old Freddie stepped foot on the very campus his brother had gone to. He hadn't seen Sam in a long time, and whenever they did talk, it wasn't much. They'd seen each other for the first time at Ciara and Josh's wedding, but never physically saw each other again and didn't talk so often because both were always busy with something. For Freddie, it was either schoolwork or spending time with Jonah and Valerie.

Eventually Sam and Freddie just became so busy they stopped corresponding. Freddie didn't expect to see her again, but his heart still yearned for her. It was painful for him. He never wished Carly to have never come around, but he always found himself wishing he hadn't started fawning over her. That was the only reason Sam ever started picking on him. He also had found himself wishing he could have been there for her more when Michelle died than he truly was. Now, there was nothing he could do, except focus on his studies and become a criminal profiler, though he didn't know the difference between that and a criminologist.

He knew he had to keep busy to not think of her, but he couldn't help it. His brother lived nearby with Ciara, but Sam was never around there, always off somewhere. Sarah wasn't doing so well the last he saw her, which wasn't that long ago. It looked like she was still dying of that broken heart, to which Freddie wondered if that was how he was going to go. He'd been attending this college for a couple weeks now, and only had seen his brother one time, and that was when he first started. Ciara and Josh lived too far away, anyway. He sighed and carried his backpack to the door of the campus apartments he resided in. He shared the apartment with one other person, so there were two bedrooms that opened out into a living area and a kitchen. He opened the door and entered, closing the door and hesitating before locking it. He took notice to the television being on with nobody watching it. He sighed as he shut it off. He hoped his roommate wasn't using his room again, the roommate usually tried to either prank him or just use his room because it was bigger. He made his way to his bedroom and opened the door, Adam was sitting on the bed reading a magazine. He looked up innocently at Freddie, who only sighed. "Hey Freddie, welcome back!" Adam said happily.

"Okay Adam, get the girl out from under my bed and go to your own room," Freddie said quietly while moving over to his desk. He had some studying to do. Adam frowned as his girlfriend left her hiding spot and quickly left the bedroom, their date was over anyway. "I will never understand why you always hide the girls in _my_ room."

"So I don't get into trouble if the resident advisor sees a girl leaving your bedroom." He was joking around, but Freddie wasn't reacting to it. He frowned as Freddie set his backpack on his desk and started to open it. "I don't think so, we _are_ going to get you out of this room!"

"Come on Adam…"

"Two or three weeks at this school and you spend all your time cooped up in here. It's not healthy man." So he often kept to himself, he didn't see anything wrong with that. He started to reach into his backpack, but Adam grabbed him and pulled him out of the room. "I've been coming here for a long time, and I can tell you that it's going to be a lonely hell if you don't socialize. So I'm going to cure that." Freddie raised his eyebrow and watched as Adam moved to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of beer.

"Adam, what are you doing?" The man poured a glass of beer and handed it over to Freddie.

"Drink. You need to loosen up."

"You know I'm underage, right?" Though no one would find out, since Adam always kept the beer hidden. He knew that even though he was 21, he wasn't allowed to have the alcohol around someone underage.

"Well, you're always saying how you want to try it someday. I won't make you drink it if you don't want to."

"I guess." Freddie hesitated and then took the glass. He stared at the beer for a second, then took a sip. It tasted weird, leaving a slightly burning taste on his tongue. He swished it around in his mouth for a second, then swallowed. It wasn't bad at all. "It has a good taste to it."

"Yeah, now don't drink too fast, okay? If you drink fast, you can get drunk easily. We don't need you drunk before the game starts, anyway."

"Game?"

"Yes." Freddie watched as Adam pushed two tables together and started setting plastic cups on the table. He knew what game this was, it was beer pong. Adam had friends over every now and then, and they would play this game often until the late hours of the night. Usually they didn't end up drunk, but sometimes they did. Freddie never played. "The guys are getting together over here tonight and there's going to be a couple girls here. Farrow's girlfriend is bringing her roommate along for the ride." Adam looked at Freddie and winked. "I hear she's in your grade, maybe you two can hook up."

"Oh yeah, I _really_ want to hook up with a girl over beer pong." Freddie rolled his eyes and Adam laughed, patting his friend on the back. "So besides your best friend and the two girls, who else is coming?"

"Mark and Eric…they're also bringing over a couple girls, some friends of theirs who wanted in on this."

"Your girlfriend left…"

"Yeah, she had something to do, but that's okay. Her sister Tabitha is coming over. She _was_ going to come with Brenda, but like I said, Brenda had some stuff to do." Freddie nodded and sipped his drink again. He knew they could get in trouble for having alcohol over, but nobody would know anyway. No one would check until the morning.

The doorbell rang and Adam went to answer it, Mark and Eric had arrived with the girls. "Hey man, is Freddie playing with us today?" Eric asked as the group entered. Adam nodded and looked over to his roommate.

"Freddie, this is Mark…" Mark looked very skinny and had curly blonde hair, he was also wearing a baseball jersey. "Eric…" Eric waved and smiled slightly. He was a bit chubby in form and had sharp eyes. "Then their friends Lisa and Martha."

"Good to meet you, you're cute," Lisa said while winking at Freddie. Freddie smiled awkwardly and nodded his greeting. He wasn't into older women for one thing. While they were chatting amongst each other, Brenda arrived. Everyone greeted her and then Adam looked up at the clock. It was nearing game time.

"I guess now we're just waiting on Farrow and Monique?"

"Nah, we just saw him pulling up." Adam nodded and looked out the door, he saw Farrow walking towards him. Farrow smiled and waved, he was wearing his football team jacket and some blue jeans. Once he entered, the group started turning his attention to him, since Monique wasn't there. "Hey, where's your girlfriend at man?"

"She's coming," Farrow said with a chuckle. Monique was just having some trouble at her own dorm. "Her roommate is taking a while to get ready. Evidently the girl just wants to study. She's a lot like Freddie and acts like a social outcast." The group laughed and Freddie rolled his eyes, smiling lightly. "So what beer do we have today? The usual?"

"Yeah, same as always." Adam walked over to the cabinet underneath the sink and opened the door to reveal a few cases of Miller Lite.

"Awesome." Farrow glanced over at Freddie to see him taking a drink. He smiled and crossed his arms. "Since when does Benson drink?" Freddie raised his eyebrows and looked over as Adam casually pulled the cases out and set them on the counter.

"He's been eyeing the beer since he got here, so I decided to let him try some. I offered and he drank. Now he's going to be playing beer pong with us."

"Awesome!" Farrow lifted his hand up for a high five and Freddie returned it, chuckling nervously.

"Alright man, help me pour these into the cups." Farrow nodded as he and Adam started pouring the alcohol into the cups. After they had the cups poured, everybody started to huddle around. "Okay here's how it's going to be. Once Monique and her friend show up, we're going to split the two teams up guys versus girls…"

"Isn't that a bit overdone?" Freddie asked while taking another sip of the soda. Adam blinked and looked over to him. "Girls VS Boys, it's done in every game. How about something more interesting, like…those newer to the game against the veteran players?"

"Do you think we can divide it equally like that?" Mark asked while rubbing his chin gently. Farrow frowned in thought and started counting his fingers. It seemed like it could be done.

"I think so, the older players verses the newer ones," Farrow commented while lowering his hand. "Adam and I have played this game for years, so we're veteran players. Mark and Eric have been doing it for not quite a year, so they'll be with you Freddie, on the newer team."

"Okay, I think that can work."

"I've played beer pong a couple times, but not as often as my sister," Brenda said while raising her hand up. The group nodded and agreed that she would be put on the newer team. She was still pretty good at the game, even still. Lisa and Martha tried to recall how long they've played the game for, they were pretty sure they could be considered veteran players.

"We first started playing two years ago," Marth said quietly. "That means we're on the veteran team." Adam nodded his head and folded his arms over.

"Correct. Yo Farrow, how long's Monique been playing?"

"Same time as us man," Farrow answered. Monique was a veteran player. "I do know her roommate's never played before, and she's a Freshman like Freddie." So Monique's roommate would be on the newer side. They had their teams. "So then Me, Adam, Monique, Lisa and Martha against Freddie, Mark, Eric, Brenda, and the new girl…seems like workable teams to me."

"I agree." Just then they noticed Monique starting to walk in the door, she looked frustrated. Farrow walked over and smiled at her, happy to see she finally made it.

"Why do you look like you're having a difficult time already?"

"Because my roommate kept complaining about how I pulled her away from her studies," Monique said tiredly. The whole car ride, the girl just kept complaining. She had actually finally stopped halfway there, it was just difficult trying to convince her to come in the first place. "And aside from that, she's nervous about there being so many people. Oh, and studies my ass, she was looking at some pictures when I caught up with her."

"It'll be all right, she'll loosen up I guess. We just need to get her to feel comfortable with everyone, that shouldn't be too hard, right?"

"We'll see…and speaking of…" Monique looked back and narrowed her eyes. She groaned and stepped outside. "Come on already, quit standing out there looking lost, girl, get inside!"

"Give me a minute to catch my breath!" The girl shouted back at Monique. Freddie was drinking some more of his beer and his eyes widened. He started coughing on his drink and stared at the door in shock.

"You okay man?" Adam asked as he hit Freddie's back, trying to help clear his airways a bit.

"You know I don't like a lot of people in one place, Monique." Monique sighed and walked over to the girl, then began pushing her inside. When Freddie's eyes locked with the girl, his jaw fell and the cup fell from his hand. The girl was staring at him with equal shock. "Freddie?"

"S-Sam!" Everyone else exchanged nervous looks and awkward chuckles as the two continued to stare at each other in silent surprise, not knowing what to say to the other.

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Next chapter is the last. I hope everyone's enjoying the holidays, and go read my story THE BETTER MUSICIAN, it's sort of a handoff for me in a sense, I don't know. It's a crossover between iCarly and Victorious, I put it in the Victorious side because clearly, it takes place there.


	18. Together Again

Before She Came

Disclaimer: I don't own iCarly

A/N: Here it is guys, the final chapter. I know it's going to seem _slightly_ rushed, but I think it ends well for the story. As you know, this was a tough story to remember, but I did it because my fans enjoyed it back then. I felt compelled to bring it back, and I enjoyed doing so! Enjoy the final chapter guys, it's been a great run!

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Chapter 18 (Together Again)

The others went on to explain the teams, ignoring the fact that Sam and Freddie were now being _very_ quiet. They kept looking at each other, then looking away immediately. They didn't expect to see the other there, and to top it off, dealing with _beer_. Freddie wasn't sure if he was ashamed or not that Sam knew he was drinking, and Sam wasn't sure what to think of his drinking. "Okay, so Adam's going to explain the rules for the newcomers," Farrow said while looking at Sam and Freddie. The two nodded anxiously as Adam held up a ping pong ball.

"Okay, the object of the game is to clear all of the opposing team's cups." The cups were lined up in pyramid form on the rectangular table. They were each filled one-third of the way with beer. "You throw this ball into the opposing team's cup and if you make it in, then someone from the opposing team must drink. If you don't make it in the cup, you have to drink from one of your own. The game continues in this way, with both players from one team taking a shot, followed by both players from the other team. The team that is able to clear all of the opposing team's cups first is the winner, with the losing team splitting the contents of the winning team's remaining cups. To begin, a player from each team takes a shot simultaneously without looking at the cups. This is repeated until one team makes, and one team misses. This decides who gets the first shot. After the first game, the winning team gets the first shot. The elbow rule is also applied for every shot, meaning the player's elbow may not cross the plane of the playing table or it does not count. Does this make sense so far?"

"Yeah," Freddie said quietly. Sam looked over at him and frowned, she wanted to say something to him, but she still didn't know anything to say. He looked at her from the side and sighed as Farrow went on to explain the process of tossing the ball.

"You have the option of tossing the ball directly into the opposing team's cups or bouncing the ball one or more times into the cups. If you manage to make a bounced shot, the opposing team has to drink two cups: the one in which the shot was made and another from the pyramid. As a rule of thumb, a regular toss, not bounced, is only worth a single cup. However, there is a catch. The defending team can defend cups against bounced a shot by blocking or swatting the ball once it hits the table. The defending team can only defend a shot once the ball has hit the table, so the throwing team doesn't take a risk by tossing instead of bouncing, as tossed shots are indefensible. Defending a toss as if it were a bounce is a sign of either drunkenness or dishonor; either way, it is punished at the very least by letting the player shoot again, if not by drinking a cup. This can be decided in a civil fashion by both sides using their best judgment, taking into account the circumstances surrounding the infraction." Sam and Freddie both frowned at this, they didn't want to end up _drunk_. At least they knew their respective roommate wouldn't force them to drink too much if they didn't want to.

"That's the basics, let's just play!" Lisa said with enthusiasm. She looked at Freddie and smirked flirtatiously. "You're going down, cutie." Sam raised her eyebrow and Freddie closed his eyes, slowly shaking his head. To see who would make the first shot, Adam and Eric went to either side of the table and began shooting to the cups.

Freddie and Sam leaned against the nearest wall and watched their friends. Freddie sighed and looked over to Sam. "So how long are we going to keep up this silence for?" He asked with a quiet voice. Sam looked over at him and smiled cautiously.

"You were drinking?" Sam asked, avoiding his question. He looked straight ahead and slowly nodded, taking responsibility for the alcohol in his hand.

"If it's any consolation, that was my first drink. I wanted to try it." Sam nodded and smiled slightly. It did feel a little better that he didn't drink too much. "I uh…I missed you, Sam."

"I missed you too, Freddie." Monique and Adam looked over to the two and waited for anything, but the two had stopped talking at that point.

"Hey, are you two going to hug and start talking or just be awkward all night!" Monique said frustratingly. Sam blushed and Freddie looked at her, smirking. He hadn't seen her blush in a long time. Although, he hadn't seen her at all in a long time. He really did miss her. She looked so beautiful. Her hair was a bit shorter now, touching only the tips of her shoulders. Not only was her hair different, but she had really grown in the physical sense as well.

"Why are you blushing, Sam?"

"I'm not blushing!"

"Yes you are."

"Shut up." Sam bowed her head, then looked at Freddie again through the corner of her eyes. A small smile formed at her lips and soon, the corner of Freddie's lips started turning up. "I really did miss you. I'm sorry we lost touch."

"Yeah, same here, I wish we hadn't." Freddie rubbed his fingers on the coarse wall and closed his eyes, trying to think of what else he could say to her. "I've done a lot of changing, Sam."

"Yeah, so have I. I've had plenty of time to think about a lot of things." Adam and Monique were happy to see Freddie and Sam talking to each other finally, considering the amount of time it took to get these two together. They didn't have an intention of making the two play beer pong, they just wanted to hopefully get these two out of the muck they were in and be happy, considering they thought the lack of the other person had to be the source of their discomfort.

"Okay so since we finally got you two in the same room together, get out of here," Adam said with a smirk. Freddie and Sam looked at him in surprise as Monique stepped beside him, looking directly at Sam.

"Girl, we've been prying and prying to figure out what your problem was, and we finally figured it out."

"Why do you think I was always in your room, Freddie?" Adam laughed and went back to the table. "Now you two have no business being here, go out somewhere. I don't care if it's a date or just reconnecting, but get your asses in gear. You have four years at this college, you _don't_ need to spend it all depressed."

"I-I don't know what to say," Freddie said in shock. Sam was stunned to silence. Adam groaned as he missed his shot and picked up one of the cups. He drank it quickly and glanced over at Freddie.

"Say 'thank you' and get the hell out of here. I'll give you my coupon for Red Lobster or something if it'll get you out of here." Freddie laughed and Sam smiled brightly. Adam reached into his wallet and handed Freddie the coupon. "Here, now get a move on. We got a game to play!"

"Um, thanks Adam." Freddie pocketed the coupon, it was for one free entrée with the purchase of another. He looked at Sam and smiled nervously. "So…You want to blow this joint and get out of here?"

"Yeah, let's go!" Sam answered in an overeager tone.

"Great!" Freddie laughed as he and Sam quickly left the apartment. The rest of the group continued to play, happy to see the whole plan had gone well.

Freddie and Sam made it into the restaurant and were led to their seat. After ordering their drinks and meal, they sat in silence for a moment. "I don't know if Ciara or Josh told you, but Mom was diagnosed with cancer about two years back…" She had to explain why the communication had just stopped, it was because they were so busy with Sarah's chemo treatments and everything else. Freddie gasped lightly as Sam closed her eyes. "She's not going to make it, she hasn't gotten any better and is basically now confined to the hospital."

"Sam, I'm so sorry," Freddie said as he placed his hand over hers. She smiled sadly and looked up at him.

"You don't know how much I wished you were here so I could just have someone other than my sister to lean on."

"I'm here now, and I don't plan on leaving you anytime soon."

"Bold statement coming from someone who just ran into an old friend while his roommate played beer pong." Freddie chuckled nervously as Sam wiped her eyes. She had become stronger since her mom was diagnosed, but that didn't mean she wasn't scared. "Freddie, do you remember when Michelle and dad died?"

"Yeah…" He frowned as Sam rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. It had been ten years, so it wasn't as painful to think about as it used to be. Having that album to look back on really did help things.

"You remember I became aggressive towards others, like Gibby, right?" Freddie slowly nodded as Sam breathed in silently. "You know I only did that because I felt I had to protect myself, and then it just escalated. I wanted to emulate Michelle, I wanted to be like her, instead of just…coping."

"I know, and I should have been there for you. Instead I wasn't…" Sam chuckled and sat up. No, he started flirting around with Carly. "I-"

"You got that little crush on Carly, and just kept at it." Freddie frowned as Sam leaned back in her seat. "I'll admit I got jealous, and…it just…something changed even more. I started picking on you."

"I remember."

"I'm sorry, Freddie…I never should have let that happen…"

"No, don't be, it isn't your fault. I think when Michelle and our fathers died, we both just changed. I was looking for familiarity, and Carly…well…that was it." Sam raised her eyebrow curiously and gave Freddie a confused look. He unfolded the napkin containing his silverware and gave a soft sigh. "The way she was, she reminded me a little about you. It just went from there…"

"So you got a crush on her because…" Sam blinked for a moment and a small smirk formed at her lips. "She reminded you of _me_?"

"Yeah, she did."

"Wow. I'm not sure whether to be concerned or flattered." Freddie laughed and Sam rested her head back onto his shoulder. She knew he stopped having a crush on Carly years ago, so there wasn't a problem there anymore. "How is Carly doing anyway? We kind of lost touch…"

"As far as I know, she went to a college pretty far away. I think she said she wanted to go into politics."

"Carly? A politician? Would you vote for her?"

"I don't know, it depends on her views." Sam nodded and Freddie slowly wrapped his arm around her waist, causing her to blush.

"S-So tell me about Jonah and Valerie, how are they doing?"

"They've been together the past four years. I don't think I've seen anyone as in love as those two."

"Well until you've seen your brother with my sister on a daily basis, you haven't seen _anything_." The two laughed for a minute, and then silenced. They were extremely happy to be with each other. Sam looked down at her silverware and frowned, her facial expression went blank and Freddie started wondering what was wrong. "I'm not sure what's going to happen when mom passes on, but we know she's not going to make it. Her body's growing weaker every day."

"Just stay strong, Sam, and you'll make it through. I believe in you."

"Thanks Freddie, you don't know how much that means to me. You know, I just want to say this…I've always had a bit of a crush on you when we were kids." Freddie smiled as Sam looked up at him. "I even had a crush on you after Carly came around, but things between us were better before she ever came along. Things were a lot different then, too."

"Yeah, but I think her being there was a good thing, something that taught us a little more about each other…and ourselves. I liked you before then, and even still, not a day goes by that you're not on my mind." Sam smiled as the waiter brought the food to them.

"So then, do we maybe…want to count this as a date?" Freddie blushed lightly as Sam gave him an innocent look. "If in fact we do like each other, maybe we could try to see what happens if we were more than friends…"

"I think that could work out."

"Good."

It was the first in a long line of dates they would have, and they had to thank their roommates for being a little more observant than most people. If it wasn't for Adam and Monique, who knew how long it would have been if they ever saw each other again. Sarah Puckett passed on a week later, after a long battle with cancer, but she did so with a smile. Just before she died, she saw David and Michelle standing, waiting for her, to receive her and take her home with them. It was a very sad time for everybody, but with Freddie by her side, Sam was able to cope with the loss a little better than she would have without him to be her rock.

Josh and Ciara had given birth to a baby boy and named him Austin. Freddie and Sam were proud to have a nephew. Jonah and Valerie had become married four years later, and Freddie was Jonah's best man. They gave birth to a baby girl named Rachel. Freddie and Sam stayed together for the next few years. They finally got married when Sam gave Freddie a son. Sam and Carly had become great friends, she and Freddie would always be grateful to have Carly around. That fact was proven even greater, when Carly became mayor, Sam and Freddie were _always_ around after that. To a point, Carly wasn't sure if she was happy they were using her political status to their advantage or not, but she didn't really care. Everyone would be great friends forever.

As it would turn out, history would almost repeat itself for their son Derek, and Jonah's daughter Rachel. Fortunately, they remained true to themselves and their friendship, learning from their parents' experiences. They ended up dating by the time they were sixteen. And boy, did Jonah have a field day with that one, having his daughter go out every night with a boy. At least Derek was Freddie's kid, and there was nothing to worry about, he thought.

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And what a great run this has been. Before She Came 2008-2010. Now you can move on to my other stuff if ya wish, and I can work on the other stories I enjoy writing ^_^.


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